


The Pieces Left Behind

by Fallenstar92



Series: We'll Make It Out Alive [2]
Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Bipolar Ian, Cute Kids, Depression, Established Relationship, F/M, Father figure Lip, Fertility Issues, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Married Ian Gallagher/Mickey Milkovich, Mental Health Issues, Mpreg, Parents Ian Gallagher/Mickey Milkovich, Post Mpreg, Recovery, Smut, Suicidal Thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-08
Updated: 2018-11-07
Packaged: 2018-11-29 08:59:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 75
Words: 79,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11437518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fallenstar92/pseuds/Fallenstar92
Summary: A sequel to "Come Back To Me" following the Gallagher family through heartache and happiness.





	1. It Hurts To See You So Broken

"When is the first time you remember feeling Depressed, Mikhailo?" Mickey's therapist-Doctor Marshall-asked, glancing up from his notes.

"Hard not to be where I grew up." Mickey replied.

"Doctor Holloway said your husband recommend this office, so I'm gonna take a wild guess and say it's not just being blue every now and then." Doctor Marshall deadpanned, earning an eye roll from Mickey.

"The first time I really remember it bein' bad was when my son was about two months old." Mickey finally admitted.

"Tell me about it." Doctor Marshall prompted.

 

Five And A Half Years Ago

Mickey had never been so tired in his fucking life; Max hadn't slept for more than thirty minutes at a time the past two weeks, so neither had Mickey. He was barely aware of anything around him, aside from two things; his infant son needed him, and he had never been more alone. He missed Ian, Mandy, and even the rest of the loud ass Gallagher clan, but he'd done this to himself. On this particular morning Max decided to give him a break, and had been asleep for two hours, but Mickey couldn't sleep.

He kept picturing Ian being there to help with their son, and loving every move the tiny boy in the bassinet near Mickey's bed made. But Ian wasn't here, and Mickey felt like he was falling apart. "You'd love him, Max; everyone does." Mickey choked out before falling back on his bed, tears rolling down his face. He thought about anything he could to fight off the pain; Max, Mandy, even Debbie fucking Gallagher, but nothing was working.

Mickey walked to the bathroom on autopilot, reaching into the medicine cabinet and pulling out a razor, thinking how much easier it would be if he was just... gone.

 

Present Day

"What stopped you?" Doctor Marshall asked.

"Max started cryin', and I remembered I was the only one he had." Mickey admitted. "Loved my son more than I hated myself."

"Does Ian know about this?" Mickey shook his head. "But he's seen you in a few deep depressions?"

"One. The other times he managed to pull me out before it got too bad." Mickey said quietly.

"Alright, Mikhailo, I have some homework for you; I want you to talk to Ian about this, and I want you to answer any questions he has honestly. Can you do that?" Mickey nodded. "Then I think we're done for today."

 

"Was that the only time?" Ian asked Mickey after he told him the truth about the first time he was severely depressed.

"Yeah. After that... after that I'd just sorta cling to Max when it got bad." Mickey said, staring down at his shaking hands.

"If it gets that bad again-even if it doesn't, and I pray to fuckin' God it doesn't-talk to me, okay?" Ian pleaded, taking Mickey's hands in his own.

"Yeah." Mickey agreed, still staring down at his hands.

"Let me see those beautiful eyes." Ian demanded, causing Mickey to look up. "You're not alone, Mick; I'm right here. And I'm not goin' anywhere, okay?" Mickey nodded. Ian-being the freakishly strong asshole he is-picked Mickey up as if he weighed the same amount as Harlow and held him in his lap. "I'm not lettin' you go, ever again, Mick. Anytime you need me, I'm right here."

"What if I'm with my boyfriend?" Mickey asked, bursting out laughing when Ian tackled him onto the couch.

"Boyfriend, huh? Who is it? I'll kill the motherfucker who thinks they can steal my baby!" Ian growled, tickling Mickey's sides.

"Daddy, Papa? What're you doin'?" Max asked, wiping sleep out of his eyes at the foot of the stairs.

"I'm just pickin' on Papa." Mickey said, rolling out from under Ian and walking to their son. "What's up, Chipmunk?" Mickey asked, picking Max up and balancing him on his hip.

"I fell outta bed and hit my butt." Max said, pouting up at Mickey. "Can I sleep with you and Papa?"

"Sure, Chipmunk." Mickey said, kissing the boy's messy red hair and carrying him into the bedroom he shared with his husband. Ian watched from the couch, his heart clenching in his chest as he witnessed-yet again-how close their son was to Mickey. He silently thanked the sleepy little boy for saving Mickey's life without even realizing it.


	2. Building From The Ground Up

Lip Gallagher could be a complete asshole-there was no denying that-but if he loved you, it was forever. He was fiercely loyal and protective when it came to his siblings, which is a primary reason he had once hated Mickey; he had seen his little brother cry over the brunette man more times than he could count, and he wasn't about to let it happen, again. But Mickey had proven he would stand by Ian and love him, so he had earned the "Lip Gallagher seal of approval" and was now added to the list of people Lip truly loved. So when Lip started getting close to Mickey's sister, again, he felt the need to be honest with Mickey.

"Hey, Gallaghers!" Lip shouted, walking into Ian and Mickey's house, seeing Ian on the floor with Harlow sitting on his stomach, smacking him in the face with some brightly colored toy. "Where's the husband?"

"Max has the flu, so Mick's gettin' him cleaned up. What're you doin' here?" Ian asked, making silly faces at the baby on his stomach.

"Been hangin' out with Mandy and..." Lip sat on the couch, watching Ian play with his daughter. "there's still somethin' there, man."

"And you think Mick's gonna go after you Milkovich style." Ian guessed, lifting Harlow over his head.

"Might be." Lip said with a shrug. "He's over-protective, especially when it comes to Mandy or the kids."

"The fuck did you do to my sister?" Mickey asked, walking down stairs with Max in his arms.

"Nothing! Nothing, I promise." Lip swore, holding up his hands in surrender. "Just... kinda a thing, again."

"Already knew that." Mickey said with a shrug, setting Max on the couch with his stuffed Ninja Turtle and Batman blanket. "You want some juice, Chipmunk?"

"Yes, daddy." Max said, snuggling up into his blanket.

"What the hell do you mean you already knew?" Lip called into the kitchen as Mickey filled plastic cup with apple juice for Max.

"Mandy told me. Here ya go, Chipmunk." Mickey said, passing the cup to Max.

"Thank you, daddy." Max whispered.

"When did Mandy tell you?" Lip asked as Ian sat up, holding Harlow in his lap, both dogs moving to be closer to the small girl.

"Last week; came over to watch some dumbass movie with Ian." Mickey said, lightly nudging Ian with his foot when he sat in the armchair behind the other man.

"What'd she say?" Lip asked, watching Ian and Mickey as Ian leaned back, resting against Mickey's legs. Lip wanted what they had; he wanted a love that could withstand anything, and be stronger than ever on the other side.

"Said shit was good; said she's happy." Mickey said, running his fingers through Ian's hair. "You hurt my sister again I'm kickin' your fuckin' ass."

"Child in the room!" Lip exclaimed, pointing at the small boy, curled up around the stuffed turtle in his arms.

"He's heard Mick say worse in the past hour." Ian scoffed, earning him a slap to the back of the head. "Ow! Fuck, it's true!"

"Shut up." Mickey chastised. Ian just laughed, and Lip smiled. He thought that-even with the challenges they'd faced in the past-he could actually have something like this with Mandy.

 

"Think Lip's gonna fuck up again?" Ian asked Mickey, who was sitting with Max in his arms as the boy shivered, his fever obviously back up.

"Hope not; Mandy keeps thinkin' he's gonna be her prince charming or some shit." Mickey replied, rubbing Max's back.

"Who knows, he might be. Doubt you thought we'd be here six years ago." Ian said with a shrug, standing up to get Max's medicine off the counter. "I think he realized he fucked up, though; Mandy was good for him and he threw it away. I know it tastes bad, Chipmunk, but it'll help." Max grimaced at the medicine cup Ian was holding, but took it, none the less.

"It's gross." Max said with a snarl that reminded Ian so much of Mickey.

"I know, bud." Ian said, sitting back down beside Mickey.

"I knew." Mickey said, looking at Max as the boy twirled the silver band on Ian's left ring finger.

"Bullshit." Ian scoffed, turning his hand over as Max started tracing shapes in his hand.

"If I was gonna end up here with anyone it was gonna be you." Mickey said softly, smiling slightly when Max crawled into Ian's lap. He knew Max; he never wanted anyone but Mickey when he was sick, but he easily went to Ian. Despite being a part of Max's life for less than three years, the boy loved Ian just as much as he loved Mickey, and that thought made Mickey so happy. Max had had no one but Mickey for the first four years of his life, and now he had two fathers who loved him, that he loved equally.

"Lip's gonna make it work this time." Ian stated plainly. "He needs someone like Mandy."

"You gettin' tired, baby?" Mickey asked their son, who just nodded.

"I got him... if it helps; he fucks her over again? I'll kick his ass for you." Ian promised with a smirk as he stood up with Max in his arms. "Gonna tell Daddy night?"

"Night, Daddy. I love you." Max murmured, laying his head on Ian's shoulder. Mickey stood up, pressing a kiss to his son's fevered cheek.

"Love you, too, baby." Mickey said, watching Ian walk up the stairs with the sick little boy. He hoped Ian was right, because Mandy needed a descent guy for once. He's getting forever with his Gallagher, and Mandy should get the same chance with hers.


	3. Crashing Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a flashback to when Max was a baby. I hope you guys enjoy it!

Five And A Half Years Ago

Mickey had no idea what to do with a baby when Max was first born; everyone assumed he ignored Yevgeny because he was just a dick, but Mickey honestly had no idea how to be a parent-even if he wasn't actually Yevgeny's father-and was terrified that he'd fuck up. So when he was released from the hospital and allowed to take his son home, Mickey was positive he'd made a mistake in keeping Max; he had no fucking idea what he was doing. He loved Max, but even changing a diaper for the first time had been a challenge. "What the hell was I thinkin'? I can't do this!" Mickey exclaimed, falling onto his bed as Max sniffled in his bassinet. "I'm gonna fuck up my own kid."

Mickey wiped his eyes, sitting up, and taking Max into his arms. "It's okay, Chipmunk; Daddy's here." Mickey whispered, rocking the infant in his arms. "Daddy loves you so much." He promised the little boy, smoothing his fiery hair down. "I want you to know that; even when I fuck up, I love you so much more than anyone I've ever known... even your other daddy." Mickey kissed Max's forehead as the boy stopped crying.

"Just wanted Daddy to hold you, huh?" Mickey asked with a smirk. "I'm gonna fuck up sometimes, Max, but I'm tryin'."

 

Mandy didn't hear anything as she walked up to Mickey's apartment, so she assumed her brother and nephew were both asleep; Mickey was probably exhausted from taking care of a newborn, after all. She fished the key Mickey had given her out of her pocket and opened the door, only to find Mickey sitting on his bed with Max asleep against his chest. "You okay? You sounded pretty fuckin' freaked out on the phone." Mandy said, moving to sit beside Mickey. "Looks way more like you than Ian."

"Did I fuck up by not givin' him up so someone who knows what the fuck they're doin' can give him a descent life?" Mickey asked, staring down at his son's sleeping face.

"No new parent knows what they're doin', Mick; you just gotta try." Mandy said, placing a hand on Max's stomach. "Do you love Max?"

"The fuck kinda question is that? Of course I love him; he's my fuckin' son." Mickey scoffed at Mandy's question.

"Would you have actually been able to give him up?" Mandy questioned her brother, already knowing the answer.

"No... I'm bein' fuckin' selfish and I know I am, but Max is the last piece of Ian I have." Mickey replied honestly. "I wanna be able to at least do right by our son since I couldn't with Ian."

"Ian loved you, Mickey; never forget that." Mandy pleaded without looking away from the sleeping infant. "And you'll figure the whole parenting thing out. So don't worry."

 

_Mick: [Multimedia Attachment] We have a son. His name is Max; he's three months old, today. He's fuckin beautiful, Gallagher._

Mickey looked at the text message-with a photo of Max asleep in his bassinet attached-before deleting it; he couldn't bring himself to tell Ian about their son. Ian had probably already forgotten Mickey ever even existed; probably had a new boyfriend who was okay with him putting himself at risk when he was fucking manic. And-for all Mickey knew-he might not have even read the letter he sent to him through Svetlana. Eventually he knew he'd have to tell Ian that their son and himself were okay-if Ian even fucking cared-but for now he didn't want Ian to reinforce what he already knew; that he didn't give a shit that Mickey had left. So he sat his phone off to the side, looked down at his son, and told him the-kid friendly version of-his and Ian's story.

"Somewhere on the Southside of Chicago, two boys grew up in two very different families; one that was filled with love, and the other with pain. The boy from the loving family had dreams of doing great things, while the other boy just wanted to make it through his teenage years without angering his father too much. Somehow, these two, very different boys fell in love; the kind you'd see in movies. But their love couldn't last, and they fell apart. It was okay, though; because-before they fell out of love-they made a beautiful little boy, who was loved by the scared, angry boy, who had never known how to love before his dreamer." Mickey whispered, watching his son as he slept peacefully. He loved this boy, and would show him everyday.


	4. Still Learning To Love

Present Day

Lip and Mandy started spending a lot of time around Mickey and Ian's house, spending time with their respective brothers and the two adorable children. Lip began to notice-however-that Mandy looked crushed anytime Max or Harlow wanted their parents. "Hey Mick?" Lip whispered as he stood in the kitchen with his brother-in-law as the man fed his daughter while Ian and Mandy sat in the living room with Max.

"Hmm?" Mickey hummed as Harlow happily drank her bottle.

"Did... was Mandy ever pregnant after you had Max?" Lip asked quietly, knowing this was something he should talk to his girlfriend about instead of his younger brother's husband; even if he is Mandy's brother.

"No." Was all Mickey said, but Lip knew Mickey well enough to see there was something he wasn't telling him.

"Mick, I hate seein' her look as down as she does when Max or Harlow leave her for you or Ian; she looks like she's gonna fuckin' break down, so whatever you're not tellin' me, tell me." Lip begged. "Mickey, I'm not gonna hurt her."

"Not my fuckin' place to tell you shit, man." Mickey muttered, looking down at Harlow. "You wanna know somethin' about Mandy? Ask Mandy; 'cause I'm not tellin' you my sister's fuckin' business."

"If I do... will she tell me?" Lip asked the other man.

"Couldn't tell ya; that's up to her." Mickey reasoned. "But if she knows you're askin' 'cause you give a shit it might help your case."

"Yeah. Thanks, Mick." Mickey just nodded and took the empty bottle from his daughter.

 

"Hey, Mands?" Lip asked, leaning against the doorway of Mandy's bedroom in her apartment later that night.

"Yeah?" Mandy replied, looking down at the toenails she'd just finished painting.

"You know I care about you, right?" Lip asked, sitting down on Mandy's bed.

"Yeah." Mandy said, moving to the other foot.

"Sweetie... what happened that you act so hurt around the kids? Did... did you lose a baby?" Lip asked, hoping Mandy would answer.

"No... I've been tryin' to get pregnant for years and it ain't happened." Mandy replied without looking up. "I started tryin' when Max was about one. Kinda hurts that Mick kept tryin'  _not_ to get pregnant and has two kids now and I want a baby so bad, and it hasn't happened."

"You're twenty-four, Mandy; you can still have a baby." Lip said, placing his hand over Mandy's. "You want a baby? We'll fuckin' make it happen."

"I can't do what Mickey did, Lip; I can't raise a kid on my own if you leave." Mandy sighed, closing the bottle of nail polish in her hands and setting it aside. "I saw how hard it was for Mickey to look at Max and see so much of Ian-how hard raisin' a fuckin' kid alone was, in general-and I'm not strong enough to do that."

"I'm not leaving you this time, Mandy; I know what I got with you is a good thing and I'm not losing you, again." Lip promised.

"You want a baby with me?" Mandy asked, finally looking up at Lip, her eyes tearing up.

"I want everything with you, Mandy Milkovich." Lip swore, taking Mandy's pale face between his hands. "I love you, Mandy; I'm sorry I never said, before, but I'm saying it now." 

"I love you." Mandy said, smiling as a tear rolled down her cheek. Lip had never felt happier than he did in this moment. No one-not Karen, not Amanda, not Helene, or any other woman-made him feel the way Mandy did, and he was going to hold on to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got on a kick of watching "Shameless" videos on Youtube and I really want to show Lip being the good person he's proven he can be, and I always thought Mandy was the best match for him out of ever girl he's dated. Leave me some comments and let me know how you feel about it, beauties! Much love!


	5. When I Need You Most

Out of all of the Gallaghers, Lip and Ian were arguably the closest. The two of them had fought each other harder, but also stood by each other more fiercely than any of their other siblings had, and had always been able to turn to the other when they needed someone to talk to. "Hey, man." Lip said as Ian walked into the computer repair shop Lip worked in. "What's up?"

"Need to talk to you." Ian said quietly, taking a seat across from Lip's work station.

"Sure. What about?" Lip asked, turning back to the laptop he was working on.

"You and Mandy are tryin' to have a baby?" Ian asked, staring at Lip like he had two heads.

"So?" Lip asked. "You forgetting you've got two kids?"

"No, but are you sure about this?" Ian asked. "I don't want you or Mandy gettin' hurt."

"You know, I've basically been a dad since I was eight and I love Mandy; I want a family with her." Lip swore, looking up at his little brother. "I want what you've got with Mickey, and I know I can have that with Mandy."

"I get that-I really do-and Mandy is fuckin' perfect for you, but I just wanna be sure you know what you're signin' up for; I fuckin' love my kids, but it's not easy." Ian said honestly. "You ready to put Mandy and the baby first?"

"Yeah." Lip replied, smiling despite himself.

"Thinkin' about what they'll look like?" Ian guessed with a smirk of his own.

"How'd you know?" Lip asked, unable to wipe the smile off his face as he thought of a little girl with Mandy's dark hair and those Milkovich dimples that Mandy, Mickey, and both of the children his brother had with the former thug sported.

"Spent a lot of time thinkin' about what Max would look like before I found him and Mick. Plus, my daughter's not even one, man; I still remember wishin' she'd be a brunette like Mickey." Ian offered.

"No such luck; you cursed both of those poor kids." Lip teased.

"Fuck you, my babies are beautiful." Ian laughed, sitting back and watching Lip work.

"Got enough Milkovich blood to make up for your weird ass red hair they got stuck with." Lip chuckled. "We all know Mickey made 'em pretty."

"Not gonna argue that." Ian agreed. "Glad they both got those big blue eyes from Mick."

"Less than a one percent chance my kid won't have blue eyes since I got 'em, too." Lip muttered, powering the laptop up. "Hoping we have a girl; I want my kid to look like Mandy."

"You're really excited about this, huh?" Ian asked, proud that his brother-the man who had essentially been his father-was ready to have his own family.

"Weren't you when you and Mick found out about Harlow?" Lip questioned. "It's gonna take awhile, but we'll make it happen."

"She was pretty excited when we talked, earlier. Oh, and you're the one tellin' Mickey about this." Ian informed his brother as he stood up to leave.

"What? Why? He's your husband!" Lip shouted at Ian's retreating figure.

"He's also gonna be on a fuckin' warpath if Mandy comes to him cryin' and I'm not gonna be the one who talks down a pissed off Milkovich!" Ian called back.

"He's a Gallagher!" Lip reminded his brother as he reached the door.

"Not when someone pisses him off!" Ian laughed as he exited the building.

 

"He hurts my fuckin' sister and I'll fuckin' kill him." Mickey said, watching Ian walk the length of Harlow's room with the crying baby in his arms.

"You're not gonna kill my brother, Mickey. Should she really be teething this early?" Ian asked, adjusting Harlow in his arms.

"Max got his first one when he was about her age so I think so; only fuckin' experience I have with kids before Harlow is him, so I don't know." Mickey said with a shrug. "He didn't wanna fuckin' move, though."

"Hate her cryin'." Ian sighed, passing the baby off to his husband. "She never cries."

"I know, baby." Mickey said, bouncing Harlow slightly as he walked. "You tryin' to break Papa's heart, Ladybug?" Mickey asked the baby, rubbing her back softly.

"Any of those tricks online work?" Ian asked, finding Harlow some thinner pajamas and hoping it would help her sleep if she wasn't burning up.

"Not really sure; Max just wanted me to hold him." Mickey replied with a shrug. "Might have to try a few of 'em with this one, though."

"Poor kid." Ian sighed, walking back over to Mickey and Harlow. "If you want Lip to decide against kids, teething is probably the best birth control." Ian tried to joke.

"Didn't stop me." Mickey pointed out. "Nah, as long as Mandy's okay, I'm fine... she deserves it." Ian nodded, watching Harlow snuggle herself closer to Mickey's chest, her bright blue eyes closing slowly. He hopes Lip and Mandy do have a child, because-as fucking hard as being a parent is-it's worth every moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know these past few chapters have been pretty short, but they'll start getting longer. Leave me some comments, beauties! Much love!


	6. Just Like Me

Terry had never taken the time to go to Mickey's Christmas Pageants at school or went to parent-teacher night, so Mickey made it his mission to do everything his father never did for him with Max. So here he was at Max's Christmas Pageant while Ian stayed home with a very fussy, teething Harlow, watching their son dance around and sing "Here Comes Santa Claus" with the rest of his class.

_Mick <3: [Multimedia Attachment] Kid's havin a blast._

_Ian: He looks so fuckin cute in his little antlers! Make sure you send me some videos of his solo!_

_Mick <3: I will. Kiss Ladybug for me._

_Ian: I will. Love you._

_Mick <3: Love you, too._

Mickey looked back up as Max nervously stepped up to the mic, looking down at his tiny feet as the music to "Frosty The Snowman" started to play. "Frosty the snowman was a jolly happy soul, With a corncob pipe and a button nose And two eyes made out of coal. Frosty the snowman is a fairy tale, they say, He was made of snow but the children know How he came to life one day." Max sang into the mic, smiling at Mickey as he recorded it for Ian.

_Mick <3: [Multimedia Attachment] He did great!_

The rest of the class had joined in until the last verse when Max started singing alone, again. Mickey started recording, yet again, to send Ian the end of Max's song. "Frosty the snowman Had to hurry on his way, But he waved goodbye saying, "Don't you cry, I'll be back again some day.""

_Mick <3: [Multimedia attachment] Our boy did fuckin awesome, baby!_

_Ian: Can't believe he didn't forget any of the lyrics! So proud of him!_

_Mick <3: Me, too; he worked so hard on this._

"You're Max's dad?" A woman sitting next to Mickey asked in a whisper.

"Yeah." Mickey replied with a smile, watching as Max and the rest of the kids started to dance and sing "Rudolph The Red-Nose Reindeer."

"He's such an awesome little boy; so polite and funny." The woman complimented.

"He's great." Mickey agreed. He tried to be polite to other parents, but he didn't want to talk right now; he wanted to watch his son have fun and sing. Max slipped and fell, laughing his ass off as everyone else continued dancing around him. Mickey had to laugh at how much Max reminded him of Ian in that moment. The woman at his side was right; Max was great.

 

"Papa! I did my song and didn't forget my words!" Max cheered as he ran into the house with Mickey behind him.

"I know; Daddy sent me a video. You did great, Chipmunk!" Ian exclaimed, picking the small boy up. "Did you have fun?"

"Yes, it was very fun." Max yawned. "I liked doing my song."

"I'm glad you did, bud. You ready for bed?" Ian asked, looping an arm around Mickey as he walked over to pat Max's back softly.

"Yes. My birthday is tomorrow, Papa." Max said, reminding his father.

"I know. We're gonna have a party tomorrow." Ian stage whispered to the tired redheaded boy. "But you gotta sleep to have fun tomorrow."

"Okay, Papa. I love you. I love you, Daddy." Max mumbled into Ian's neck.

"Love you, baby boy." Mickey whispered, kissing Max's cheek.

"Love you, Chipmunk." Ian said, burying his face in Max's hair and kissing his head.

 

"Our baby boy's gonna be six, tomorrow." Ian said sadly. "We have a six year old."

"Makes you feel pretty old, huh?" Mickey muttered, curling up around Harlow as she slept soundly in their bed.

"Well yeah, our kid is growin' up too fast, Mick!" Ian sighed, laying down next to Mickey and Harlow. "He's still our baby, but he's gonna be in First Grade next year."

"They grow up, baby; just gotta love 'em and teach 'em to be good people." Mickey mumbled, draping his arm lightly over Harlow. "Think we're doin' a pretty damn good job of that."

"You did all of that, baby." Ian said, turning to look at his husband and their daughter. "You did all the work."

"You're doin' a great job, Ian; you had no fuckin' idea how to be a parent and he was already four when you met him; so I'll always believe you've done a great fuckin' job." Mickey assured, taking Ian's hand and holding it on Harlow's stomach. "He loves the shit outta you, and he knows you love him."

"That enough?" Ian asked, seriously.

"Yeah it is; it shows him he don't gotta be afraid of you." Mickey yawned.

"Go to sleep, baby." Ian whispered, kissing Mickey's forehead lightly. "I love you."

"Love you, too." Mickey barely got out as he fell asleep. Ian got his phone off the nightstand, snapping a quick picture of Mickey and Harlow sleeping and set it as his home screen-his lock screen being one of the pictures of Max in his costume with a wide, dimpled smile on his face that Mickey had sent him earlier that night-before laying down and falling asleep next to his husband and daughter.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave me some comments, beauties! Much love!


	7. I'll Be Okay

"Papa! Daddy! It's my birthday!" Max shouted, hopping on the foot of Ian and Mickey's bed, smiling up at his parents. "I get cake, and presents, and my friends are gonna come play with me!"

"That's right, bud." Ian groaned, stretching before pulling Max into his lap. "You excited to see Franny, today?"

"Yes. I miss Franny, Papa." Max said, smiling brightly up at Ian. "Are you gonna eat cake, too?"

"Might have to fight Daddy for it." Mickey slapped Ian's leg while he stayed cuddled up to Harlow, who was giggling and touching Mickey's face. "Max, Daddy's mean to Papa!" Ian gasped, looking down at the giggling little boy.

"Max, tell Papa to shut up and let Daddy sleep." Mickey mumbled, making both children laugh, again. Ian just sat back and watched his family, completely content in his life.

 

A room full of screaming, laughing children got very chaotic very fast for Ian and Mickey, who were alternating who would take care of Harlow. "I brought her some more teething rings and of that teethin' gel doctors tell you not to use." Vee said, passing Mickey a plastic bag. "Put the rings in the freezer." She instructed, taking the baby from his arms.

"Thanks, Vee." Mickey sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "Givin' him a teething ring and holdin' him was all Max needed, but she's havin' a harder time." Mickey informed the woman as he placed the teething rings in the freezer and got one of the few they already had out for Harlow.

"I get it; Gemma had no problem but Amy was a fuckin' mess." Vee said, smiling down at the baby girl as she chewed on the teething ring. "She's beautiful."

"Thanks. Looks a lot like Ian." Mickey said, watching Ian play with Max and his friends in the living room.

"Max looks more like you; may have some freckles and red hair, but most of that boy is you." Vee said, turning to watch Max climb up Ian's back.

"Ian says that, too." Mickey laughed as Max did a somersault off Ian's shoulder. "Acts a lot like Ian."

"Got that Milkovich stubborn streak, though." Vee laughed as Gemma fallowed Max's lead and climbed Ian's back. "Kid's a little wild man."

"Got no idea; tried to climb the Christmas Tree the other night 'cause Harlow was starin' at the star." Mickey laughed with a shake of his head. "He's not afraid of nothin'."

"Gemma's the same way; she'll try anything, but Amy's more cautious... how're you doin', sweetie?" Vee asked, turning back to Mickey with kind, brown eyes completely focused on the man.

"Better; doctor thinks it's a combination of PTSD and Postpartum depression." Mickey said, leaning over the counter. "Thinks it's got a lot to do with Terry."

"He was horrible to you kids." Vee agreed. "You gonna be okay?"

"Medicated now, so I should be." Mickey reassured the woman. "I'll be okay. I gotta be."

"Daddy! Presents!" Max called, pulling Vee and Mickey's attention back to the boy in the living room.

 

"Never givin' Max cake again." Ian groaned, dropping onto the couch next to Mickey. "Poor Jake and Hyde basically passed the fuck out."

"And that's why you were the one puttin' him to bed." Mickey laughed, adjusting a sleeping Harlow in his arms. "I had the easy one."

"I thought he'd be the easy one." Ian sighed. "You okay?" Ian asked, turning his head to look at Mickey.

"Yeah, I'm good." Mickey assured. "Fuckin' kids wore me out, but I'm okay. How about you?" Mickey did not miss the days when Ian would get pissed off if he asked about how the younger man was feeling.

"Little worried; these meds have been workin' for awhile... sorta just expecting them to stop any fuckin' second." Ian admitted. "Don't want Max and Harlow watchin' me fall apart like we all did with fuckin' Monica."

"You've been sleepin', you're not wakin' me up at three in the morning to fuck, and you're not up at five takin' pictures of the god damn sunrise... I think you're okay, right now, baby." Mickey said quietly. "You feelin' alright?"

"I feel like me. Not feelin' manic or depressed but sometimes it sneaks up on me." Ian confirmed. "If I start actin' fuckin' crazy, tell me. Okay?"

"Okay." Mickey agreed. "You know I'm not gonna leave if you do, right?"

"I know. Just... I was a fuckin' mess before Max was born. Don't wanna be like that, again." Ian sighed. "Things are pretty good right now and I don't wanna fuck it up."

"We're gonna be fine. Yeah, we're fucked up, but who's not?" Mickey asked. "Gonna put her to bed." Mickey said, standing up slowly, trying not to wake the girl. As he walked up the stairs with Harlow in his arms, Ian chewed his lip, praying things would stay alright for just a little longer. He really did feel fine, but he was scared shitless he'd wind up scaring one of his kids during an episode of Mania that he hadn't felt coming on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave me some comments and let me know if you liked this chapter, beauties! Much love!


	8. The Moments You Never Forget

Harlow was finally starting to feel a little better after her first tooth cut through on Christmas Eve, much to her parents' relief. "Do I gotta go to bed? I wanna see Santa, Papa." Max mumbled as Ian laid him in his bed.

"Santa waits for little kids to go to sleep, Chipmunk." Ian whispered. "And sissy's gonna need you to help her unwrap her presents in the morning and you can't do that if you're sleepy from waiting up for Santa."

"Okay." Max conceded, cuddling up to Hyde. "Papa?"

"Yeah, bud?" Ian asked, pulling the covers over Max and his faithful sidekick.

"Do you love sissy more?" Ian paused, staring down into his son's wide blue eyes-the eyes that were exact copies of Mickey's-when Max asked him this.

"No, Max; I love you both the exact same. Why would you ask me that?" Ian's heart broke when his sweet little boy asked if he loved his daughter more; how could he possibly love one of his children more than the other?

"'Cause you was gone when I was little like sissy." And there it was. Max  _did_ feel like Ian had abandoned him. Ian sat down next to Max on his bed, placing one large hand on the small of the boy's back.

"Max... Papa's sick. Not like when you got sick, though; Papa's head is sick." Ian started, trying to think of a way to explain Bipolar Disorder to his six-year-old son. "See, Papa will get really happy and then get really sad if he doesn't take the medicine he needs."

"Bein' happy is good." Max offered.

"Not this way. I do things that could hurt me or someone else 'cause I don't realize it hurts people... I didn't wanna take my medicine a long time ago, and I hurt Daddy very bad. He wanted me to be better, and I didn't see that, so I hurt his feelings very bad... that was a little while before you were born, and Daddy left 'cause he didn't want me to hurt your feelings." Ian explained, hoping he had done an adequate job.

"Did you miss us?" Max asked, looking up at Ian with those bright blue eyes he loved so much on all three of his babies.

"Everyday." Ian said, honestly. "But Daddy was right; before I took my medicine I would have hurt your feelings and I never wanna do that, 'cause I love you with my whole heart."

"You don't love sissy more?" Max asked, seemingly double-checking what Ian had said.

"Never; I love my Chipmunk and my Ladybug the same." Ian confirmed, leaning over to kiss his son's nose lightly. "Get some sleep, Max; Santa's gonna leave you a whole bunch of presents and you're gonna need a lot of energy to play with them all."

"Goodnight, Papa. I love you." Max said, closing his eyes.

"I love you, too." Ian whispered, kissing the boy's cheek, this time.

"Night, Daddy. I love you." Max said, causing Ian to snap his head in the direction of the door, only to find his husband standing there.

"Love you, too, Chipmunk." Mickey replied, watching Max fall asleep and Ian move closer to him. "You did good." Mickey reassured Ian, patting his arm softly as the descended the stairs.

 

"That's the last of 'em." Mickey said as he brought the last few presents for the kids into the living room where Ian was organizing them under the Christmas Tree. "You okay?"

"Yeah... not really. It broke my fuckin' heart that Max thought I loved Harlow more." Ian admitted. "Does it seem like it? I mean, I know I don't, but if you were him would you think I loved her more?"

"He didn't understand, baby." Mickey said, sitting in the floor next to Ian. "I never tried to explain you bein' Bipolar to him, 'cause until you saw us at the grocery store I was convinced I'd never see you, again; thought you moved on and forgot about me."

"Could never forget about you, Mick." Ian scoffed, turning to look at Mickey. "Think he understood?"

"Yeah, I do. You explained it the best fuckin' way you could to a kid his age." Mickey leaned forward enough to connect their lips in a soft, sweet kiss. "Proud of you, baby."

"Thanks." Ian looked back at the tree, noting that all of the kids' presents were out, now. "Better get to bed; Max is gonna wake us up pretty fuckin' early."

"Yeah, not lookin' forward to that." Mickey laughed, standing up and offering Ian a hand. "Come on, let's get some sleep before your son wakes us up at the ass crack of dawn."

"Our son." Ian corrected with a soft laugh as he stood up.

"He's your son when he wakes me up before eight." Mickey stated. "My daughter wants to sleep in."

"Whatever you say, dear." Ian laughed as he entered their bedroom with Mickey.

 

"Papa?" Max whispered, laying down next to Ian. "It's Christmas."

"Yes it is." Ian yawned, stretching his back. "Why're you just wakin' me up?"

"Daddy's feedin' sissy and said to get you." Max giggled. "Daddy said you gotta be up to open presents."

"You just woke me up to open presents? I feel so loved." Ian said sarcastically, picking his son up. "You wanna help Papa make some pancakes?"

"Can we make chocolate chip?" Max asked, wrapping his arms around Ian's neck as they exited the bedroom.

"Yes sir." Ian agreed, hoisting Max higher on his hip. "Hey, baby." Ian whispered, kissing Mickey's cheek as he sat Max on the counter and moved to start making breakfast. Ian went about making pancakes-with Max helping to mix the batter-he realized just how lucky he was to have Mickey, Max, and Harlow in his life.

 

"Okay, sissy, this one is yours." Max said, moving to sit next to Mickey as he held Harlow in his lap. "Daddy, can I help sissy?"

"Yeah, Chipmunk." Mickey agreed, smirking over at Ian as he recorded the two children on hid phone. "Okay, Ladybug, let's get this one open then you can take a nap." Mickey said, helping Max and Harlow tear the wrapping paper.

"Sissy got a Minnie Mouse, Papa!" Max exclaimed, holding up a brightly colored Minnie Mouse doll.

"She sure did. Let sissy play with her toy, bud." Ian said, smiling at Harlow, reaching for the toy.

"Ap! Ap!" Harlow screeched, turning to Ian. "Ap!"

"Did she just..." Ian cut himself off, a lump forming in his throat.

"Come get your daughter, man." Mickey said, lifting Harlow up for Ian to take her. Ian moved without another word, holding Harlow to his chest. This was one of the moments he'd missed with Max-one he'd wished he'd gotten a chance to see for years-and he'd just witnessed it with Harlow. Ian had never felt happier than he did right now with his husband, son, and daughter by his side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave me some comments, beauties! Much love!


	9. Downfall

Mickey ignored Ian waking up early to go on runs; the weather was finally starting to warm up and Ian loved the outdoors, after all. But he couldn't keep ignoring it when he stopped sleeping, at all. "Baby?" Mickey called as he walked into the kitchen where Ian was making pancakes.

"Yeah?" Ian asked, flipping the pancakes he was working on and dancing to some shitty pop song on the radio.

"What'd your doctor say for you to do when you're Manic?" He tried to sound like he was just curious and making sure he knew what needed to be done just in case, but Mickey knew for a fact Ian was Manic.

"Take extra mood stabilizers and rest until everything evens out. Why?" Ian asked, smiling at Mickey when their eyes met.

"You're not sleepin'." Mickey said, sitting at one of the barstools at the kitchen counter.

"I'm fine." Ian said, still smiling.

"You're out runnin' at five-thirty in the fuckin' mornin'." Mickey continued.

"Mick, I'm fine." Ian reinforced.

"No, you're not, Ian." Mickey argued quietly.

"I'm not Manic!" Ian exclaimed.

"You wanna wait for shit to get real bad? For you to be out at all hours of the fuckin' night, high off your ass? Or to go cheat on me again 'cause I can't keep up?" Mickey questioned in a low voice, knowing Max would be awake soon. "'Cause I'll tell you, now, if you start that shit I'm gone."

"Are you seriously threatening to leave me?" Ian asked in complete disbelief.

"If you don't do what the fuck you're supposed to, yeah. We got kids, Ian; you really want them hearin' us fight 'cause you went out and fucked some other guy?" Mickey knew this was manipulative, but if there was one thing Ian would take into consideration, it was the impact his disorder would have on their children if it got out of his control.

"You'd leave me 'cause I'm Bipolar?" Ian asked again, his eyes wider than before.

"No. I'd leave if you didn't take care of yourself, 'cause I'm not makin' Max and Harlow watch you fall apart." Mickey said, honestly. "I'm not watchin' you fall apart, because I love you too fuckin' much to see you like that."

"I don't feel Manic; I feel fine." Ian said, returning to his pancakes.

"I know that, baby, but this is the beginning." Mickey was praying Ian would decided to do what his doctor told him, now, so shit didn't get as bad as before. "Ian, what if you take off with one of the kids? What the fuck am I supposed to do? It fucked me up bad enough with Yevgeny and he wasn't even my fuckin' kid; Max and Harlow are my fuckin' life."

"I wouldn't hurt my kids." Ian said through gritted teeth. "I love our kids, Mickey."

"I know you do. But you loved Yevgeny." Mickey said, softly. "Take the pills, Ian."

"What if I don't? What if I like how I feel?" Ian countered, moving around their kitchen like a fucking hummingbird. "Do we have any cinnamon?"

"Do what you want, Ian, I'm not your fuckin' keeper. But remember that you told me to talk to you if it started." Mickey sighed, standing up from the barstool. "Check the cabinet over the stove. I'm gonna go see if Harlow's awake."

 

Ian felt fine; sure he wasn't sleeping, but he didn't feel Manic. He was just happy, right now. Ian ran up the stairs, ready to talk to Mickey, but saw his husband playing in their daughter's bedroom floor with both of their children. He couldn't risk losing this; this was all he had ever wanted, and he wouldn't fucking lose his family. "Papa, you wanna come play?" Max called out, looking up from where he was laying on the floor next to Harlow.

"No, baby boy... Papa's gotta go take his medicine." Ian said around a lump in his throat. "Maybe later."

"Okay, Papa; hope you feel better, soon!" Max called, tickling Harlow's stomach as Ian walked away. 

 

"How're you feelin'?" Mickey asked, laying down next to Ian in their bed.

"Tired." Ian mumbled quietly. "I'll be better, soon."

"Thank you. For puttin' them first." Mickey whispered, staring into Ian's green eyes.

"Always gonna put you three first." Ian yawned. "Love you guys."

"We love you, too." Mickey replied, leaning in to kiss Ian. "Hey, Max drew you a picture; said it was a card so you'd feel better." Mickey whispered, pulling a colorful drawing of two dogs out of his pocket and passing it to Ian. Ian flipped the picture over, reading the little note Max wrote him on the back.

_"The big dog is Jake and the baby one is Hyde. I hope you feel better. I love you, Papa."_

"He's awesome." Ian said softly. "We got a great kid."

"Yeah we do. So you gotta rest up, 'cause he'll be in here first thing in the fuckin' mornin' to check on you." Mickey ordered gently.

"Love you." Ian mumbled, letting his eyes fall shut.

"Love you, too." Mickey replied, pulling Ian closer to his chest. This bought of Mania was easy to combat, but Mickey knew the next time would be harder. He would fight it with Ian, because he needed the man at his side more than he'd ever need anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little glimpse of how they'll be dealing with Ian's disorder together. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Leave me some comments, beauties! Much love!


	10. Trouble Always Finds Us

Having two children under the age of ten made it difficult for Ian and Mickey to make time for themselves as a couple on the best of days, but after Ian had gotten back on track from his brief episode of Mania, he wanted to do something for his husband. "Thanks for watchin' the kids, man." Ian said to Lip as he picked up some of Harlow's toys off the floor.

"No problem; Mandy wanted to see 'em, anyway." Lip replied, watching Ian closely. "How've you been?"

"I'm good. Mick was pretty upset with some of the shit he had to say to get me to take my pills, but I don't blame him, so why should he blame himself?" Ian asked sitting down next to Lip. "Said he'd leave if I didn't take care of myself; didn't want the kids to go through what we did with Monica."

"He wanted you to do what was best; he wasn't just leaving for no reason." Lip reasoned. "Besides, he loves you. Not like you can just turn that off."

"Yeah. You guys havin' any luck on the baby front?" Ian asked, looking towards the stairs when he heard Max laugh from above them.

"Not yet, but it's only been a few months." Lip said, a hint of hope in his tone. "But... Liam wants to move into the new apartment with us."

"He say why?" Ian knew Liam looked at Lip as his father-all of the younger Gallaghers did-but he wasn't sure Lip understood how deeply that bond ran for Liam.

"Nah, just said he wanted to stay with me." Lip sighed. "Fiona's fucking heartbroken, but in a way I get it, you know? As far as parents go he doesn't know anything besides Fiona and I, and he's at an age where he wants to be around a father figure."

"Good practice, in a way." Ian offered. "He with Fiona tonight?"

"No, he wanted to stay at Debbie's." Lip replied. "The hell are they doing up there?"

"Max is a zombie, tonight, so he's probably chasin' Mandy around. Mick's puttin' Harlow to bed." Ian said without even thinking.

"A zombie?" Lip asked with a soft laugh. "He a zombie very often?"

"No. Last week he was Batman." Ian laughed. "Week before that he was the Joker... Got the laugh down pretty damn good."

"That's not scary at all." Lip replied, sarcastically.

"Especially not when he hides outside the fuckin' bathroom door to do it; kid almost gave me a damn heart attack." Ian said with a fond smile. "You're gonna love it when your kid's this age, man. It's a fuckin' blast."

"Ladybug's asleep. Max is chasin' Mands around sayin' he eats brains, though." Mickey informed the brothers as he walked down the stairs, Jake close behind him. "Jake's probably gonna go up and check on Harlow a few times or he'll just sleep next to her crib, and Hyde stays up Max's ass so you don't really gotta worry 'bout them."

"Guess we know who's dog Jake is." Lip said, scratching the dog's head affectionately. "You love your baby?" Jake let out a deep, happy bark with his tail wagging in response. "You guys go have fun; we got the kids, and if we fuck up Hyde and Jake will let you know."

"Watch Uncle Lip, Jake." Ian instructed the loyal German Shepherd, scratching his ears as he stood up. "Ready to go, baby?"

"Yeah." Mickey said, lacing his fingers through Ian's as they walked out of the house.

 

The restaurant they decided on was nicer than Sizzler's-where they usually ended up on their rare "date nights" as an inside joke-but still nothing that made the two Southside kids feel out of place. "You could've got a beer, Mick; I'm fine." Ian said quietly once their waitress took their drink orders.

"Not gonna drink when you're not drinkin'." Mickey replied with a shrug. "Besides, I'm not actually supposed to on the new Antidepressants."

"How're you doin' with all of this?" Ian asked, staring into Mickey's endless blue eyes. "We don't talk about it around the kids so I don't really get much of a chance to ask."

"Better. Didn't really feel like the meds were doin' anything for about the first month, so it's good to actually see a change." Mickey replied, honestly. "Feel better than I have in a long time."

"Never told me when it started." Ian thought out loud. "You said the first time you remember it bein' bad was when Max was a couple months old, but not the first time you noticed it."

"Probably when I was twelve... when I figured out I was gay." Mickey said, looking down at his menu. "Got pretty bad after Terry... after shit with Svetlana."

"I'm sorry, baby." Ian whispered. He should've seen it; should've been there to help Mickey through his depression and the aftermath of his rape, but he ran.

"Wasn't your fault, Ian; he would've found out sooner or later." Mickey reassured the younger man, looking up as he reached across the table to squeeze Ian's hand. "You're here now, right?"

"Not goin' anywhere." Ian replied, turning his hand over to squeeze Mickey's paler, tattooed one back. "You're stuck with me."

"Good; kinda like you." Mickey said with a smirk.

"Only "kinda?"" Ian asked, his face morphing to an expression of faux shock.

"Get on my nerves, sometimes." Mickey shot back. The men were both laughing as their waitress came back with their drinks and took their orders, just enjoying being in each other's company.

 

"Gonna go pay the bill." Ian said as they stood up, knowing Mickey was probably dying for a cigarette.

"I'll wait outside." Mickey replied as he walked to the door, fishing his cigarettes and lighter out of his pocket and lighting one once he was on the sidewalk.

"Alex?" Mickey didn't react to the name-no one had called him that in over a year, after all-as he waited for his husband. "Alex! Hey, it's been awhile!" Mickey looked up from the ground when he realized who was talking to him. Adam had been his longest standing fuck buddy when he and Ian were separated, but Mickey hadn't seen the blond man since about six months before he and Ian met, again. "What're you doin' here?"

"None of your fuckin' business." Mickey said, taking a drag off his cigarette to calm his nerves. Adam had made Mickey feel even worse about himself than he ever had, before, when they were fucking, and him standing so close was making Mickey fucking anxious.

"You look... good." Adam said, awkwardly. "Put on a little weight." Mickey knew that wasn't meant as a compliment; Adam had told Mickey he was fat and looked disgusting when they'd first fucked when Max was almost three, and his body wasn't fully back to normal, now, after giving birth to Harlow less than a year ago.

"There a reason you're fuckin' talkin' to me?" Mickey asked, hoping Adam would walk away.

"Wanted to catch up; look kinda lonely." Adam said, leaning against the wall next to Mickey. "You work here or somethin'?"

"No." Mickey wished Ian would hurry his fucking ass up so he could get away from this asshole.

"So, what? Can't be on a fuckin' date." Adam said, looking Mickey over.

"Am." Mickey replied, flipping his ashes onto Adam's shoes.

"Seriously? Find yourself a chubby-chaser?" Adam sneered.

"The fuck did you say?" Ian snapped as he exited the restaurant.

"I'm talkin' to my friend, so mind you're own fuckin' business, Raggedy Andy." Adam snapped back.

"My husband is my fuckin' business." Ian snarled, getting directly in Adam's face.

"Ian, leave it... let's just go home, okay?" Mickey didn't want Ian starting a fight over him; those years were supposed to be behind them.

"You got married? He okay raisin' someone else's fuckin' brat?" Adam asked, looking around Ian so his nearly black eyes met Mickey's blue ones before Ian slammed him into the wall.

"Ian!" Mickey gasped, trying to pull the freakishly strong-and incredibly pissed-redhead off the shorter man.

"Don't talk about my fuckin' husband, and don't talk about my son." Ian seethed, pushing his forearm into Adam's windpipe.

"Ian, stop it!" Mickey shouted, moving so Ian could look him in the eye. "He's not worth you gettin' your ass arrested. Let's go home to the kids, okay?" Ian let Adam drop before moving closer to Mickey.

"Shoulda known you got knocked up, again. Fuckin' whore." Adam coughed. Ian threw a punch directly at Adam's jaw, smirking in satisfaction before walking away with Mickey.

 

"Hey!" Mandy greeted as Mickey and Ian entered their house, looking on in confusion as Mickey walked up the stairs without even glancing in the direction of Lip and herself on the couch. "He okay?"

"Weird night. Thanks, guys." Ian said as way of dismissal as he fallowed his husband up the stairs. "That him?" Ian asked, watching Mickey lean over the crib to look at Harlow. He vaguely heard the front door open and close, but he was too worried about his husband to register that his brother and sister-in-law had left.

"Yeah." Mickey replied. "Do I really look that bad?" Mickey asked without looking away from their daughter.

"You look fuckin' beautiful, Mick." Ian said sincerely, stepping forward and hugging Mickey from behind. "You're gorgeous, baby; don't let that asshole get to you, okay?" Ian kissed the side of Mickey's head, inhaling the scent that was so uniquely Mickey. "You are the most amazing, breathtakingly beautiful fuckin' man I've ever met. Don't doubt that for a second."

"Need to lose the baby weight." Mickey mumbled, reaching down to run his index finger over Harlow's tiny fist.

"If you do, fine. If not, who gives a fuck? I still think you're hot as hell." Ian offered. "He didn't deserve you're fuckin' time, Mickey."

"Why the hell does everyone always go back to I'm a whore or a slut?" Mickey asked, more to himself than Ian.

"'Cause people are always gonna hit where it hurts, baby." Ian sighed, wishing something he was saying would help Mickey. "You're not a whore; you had a sex life when we were broken up for five years. So what? Not like anyone expected you to live like a fuckin' monk."

"You did." Mickey deadpanned.

"'Cause the last time I fucked someone else it hurt you, and I couldn't do it with that memory in mind." Ian admitted. "Had blue balls like a motherfucker, but it was worth it; I got my baby back."

"Why the fuck are you with me, Ian?" Mickey asked so softly Ian almost missed it. He turned Mickey around, forcing the older man to look at him.

"I'm with you because I love you. I love everything about you, and it's been that way since I was fifteen." Ian swore. "You're the love of my fuckin' life, and I would choose you over anyone."

"I'm a fuckin' mess." Mickey sniffed, wiping tears from his eyes.

"So am I; part of the reason we work so well." Ian joked. "He's not worth you feelin' like shit, baby. We've got an amazing fuckin' life with our kids, and no one can take that from us."

"Can we just go to bed?" Mickey asked quietly.

"Yeah. Come on." Ian agreed, leading Mickey downstairs to their bedroom. He knew what that asshole said had hurt Mickey deeply, but he wouldn't let it ruin his husband.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave me some comments, beauties! Much love!


	11. I Still Need You Here

Summer rolled around with minimal problems; Max had graduated Preschool, Harlow had started crawling and trying to talk more than calling for Ian by yelling "ap", and Mickey seemed to be doing better as far as his depression went. "Daddy, Papa, is sissy gonna wake up to play at her party?" Max asked, watching Harlow sleep in her playpen, Jake loyally at her side.

"Yeah, Chipmunk; sissy just needs a nap." Ian replied, tossing an inflated balloon to his son.

"Does sissy get cake?" Max asked, laying back against Jake.

"Aunt Debbie made cupcakes so sissy gets her own." Mickey said, turning from where he was hanging the pink streamers Max had insisted they needed for Harlow's first birthday party. Ian turned around on the couch as he continued to blow up balloons, watching Mickey stretch to pin a streamer over his head. Mickey had lost a bit of weight, recently, but Ian just assumed he had started working out to lose some of the baby weight, at first. But he was starting to get a little concerned; Mickey had always had a lithe waist, but he was near skeletal, these days.

"Max, you want some Mac and cheese for lunch?" Ian asked, glancing at his son, quickly.

"Yes. Thank you, Papa." Max replied, sweetly, batting his balloon around. Ian nodded as he stood up, placing a hand on the small of Mickey's back.

"You hungry, baby?" Ian asked, kissing Mickey's cheek.

"Nah, I'm okay. Thanks, though." Mickey answered, only serving to worry Ian more. He made a mental note to talk to Mickey tonight after everyone had left.

 

"Happy birthday, dear sissy! Happy birthday to you!" Max sang over everyone else, making the whole Gallagher/Milkovich family "awe" in unison. "Candles are hot, sissy." Max warned Harlow as he moved to help her blow out her candle.

"How sweet is he?" Debbie whispered to Mickey as he took pictures of Harlow scooping icing up with her hand. "You okay, Mick?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Mickey replied stiffly. "Why?"

"Just... gettin' kinda skinny." Debbie answered with a shrug. "Let's go get some cupcakes before Amy and Franny eat all of 'em." Mickey nodded but held back, watching Ian help Harlow eat her cupcake with a soft smile.

"Da! Da!" Harlow yelled, reaching out for Mickey.

"Come get your daughter, Mick." Ian called, lifting the squirming baby out of her highchair, not caring about the icing the girl was getting on his shirt. Mickey took her into his own arms, kissing her chubby cheeks repeatedly.

 

"Think I'm gonna be washin' fuckin' icing outta my hair for a week, man." Mickey groaned, drying his hair as he walked out of the bathroom and into the bedroom he shared with Ian. "What's up?" Mickey asked, catching the way Ian was watching him.

"The weight loss... this about that blond asshole?" Ian hadn't even bothered to learn the guy's name; what was the point? He wasn't fucking planning on having a conversation with the guy who hurt his husband.

"No." Mickey said, sliding on a pair of boxers.

"Mick, baby... I already told you looked fuckin' perfect." Ian was almost pleading as he moved to the edge of the bed. "You don't need to change anything about yourself." Ian pulled Mickey down until he was straddling the younger man's lap. "Nothing that motherfucker said about you is true."

"Just wanted to look like me, again." Mickey muttered, tracing the tattoo just below Ian's collarbone-the simple, swirling font of their children's names-with the pads of his fingers.

"Still looked like you." Ian whispered, lifting Mickey's chin so their eyes met. "Still have those eyebrows that tell people any fuckin' thought you've got goin' through that head of yours, those cute ass dimples when you smile, and that smile... God, baby, it's fuckin' gorgeous; love seein' you smile." This earned Ian a soft, guarded smile from the man in his lap. "There it is. And you still got those beautiful eyes."

"Yours are better." Mickey replied, still trying to memorize every fleck of gold and blue mixed into Ian's captivating eyes after all of this time.

"Not a chance. So fuckin' glad both kids got your eyes." Ian said, wrapping his arms around Mickey's waist. "What he thinks doesn't mean a fuckin' thing to me, 'cause I'm always gonna love my Mickey."

"Yeah? What if I just get fuckin' huge?" Despite sounding as if he were joking, Ian could see this was a real concern for Mickey. "You look like a fuckin' model and I'm..."

"Perfect." Ian finished. "You're fuckin' beautiful, you're smart as hell, you're funny, and you're an amazing father to our babies."

"What happens now?" Mickey asked, looking away from Ian. "What the fuck am I gonna do? Talk to my fuckin' therapist about it?"

"If that's what you think you should do." Ian replied. "But for now, we're gonna go to the kitchen, eat some cupcakes 'cause Ladybug kept takin' mine, and then we're gonna go to sleep. Got it?"

"Yeah. Let's go." Mickey agreed, standing up and pulling Ian towards the kitchen, feeling slightly better about himself after what Ian had said, but knowing some kind words wouldn't resolve the underlying issue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always end up putting Mickey through worse shit than Ian for some reason, even though I adore him. Leave me some comments to let me know how you feel. Much love!


	12. Vacation-Part One

"Road trip with a one-year-old. Sure you can handle this, man?" Lip asked Ian as he helped his younger brother load the family's bags in the back of Ian's hatchback.

"Yeah. Stop every couple of hours so the kids can get out of the car, make sure the got enough shit to keep them entertained, and don't piss off my husband." Ian went through his mental checklist.

"Last one is a good rule." Lip agreed with a laugh. "Never piss off a Milkovich in a confined space."

"Not a Milkovich, anymore, Phillip." Mickey said as he walked out to the car with Max's new Batman backpack and Harlow's ladybug diaper bag. "Chipmunk's tablet is completely charged, got that fuckin' Hotspot thing Mandy got him, he's got three of his books, his Ninja Turtle, Batman blanket, and some toy cars."

"Got Ladybug's Minnie Mouse?" Ian asked, slamming the hatch down.

"Yep. Got her Minnie Mouse, her bear, that ladybug thing Debs got her for her birthday, her ladybug blanket, and that annoying fuckin' singing robot." Mickey rattled off. "Think we got everything."

"Can I ask a serious question?" Lip asked as Mickey placed the two bags in the car.

"Sure." Ian said, passing Mickey the small insulated bag with the kids' snacks to put in the front seat.

"Why the hell do you call them "Chipmunk" and "Ladybug?"" Lip asked, turning back to the house as Mandy walked out with both kids, Jake, and Hyde to play in the front yard.

"Max had a chubby face when he was born so I just started callin' him Chipmunk and it stuck." Mickey replied, watching Harlow crawl around with Jake close to her side. "And when I was pregnant with Harlow, Carl got her a bunch of shit with ladybugs on it for that fuckin' baby shower Debbie insisted I had to have and mailed it to us since he couldn't make it home."

"I thought it was cute so I started gettin' more ladybug stuff for her and it just sorta turned into her nickname." Ian finished, chuckling when Harlow laid down so Jake would lick her hands and feet.

"Always wondered why all her shit had ladybugs on it." Lip mused. "Carl buy the diaper bag?"

"Diaper bag, some clothes, toys, and that thing over her crib... mobile or some shit." Mickey answered. "Maxton Krew Gallagher, put the dirt down!"

"Sorry Daddy!" Max yelled, dropping his handful of dirt and running to Mandy so she could help him wipe them off with a diaper wipe.

"Anyway, no real big meanin' to either of 'em." Mickey said as if he hadn't just chastised his son.

"Think you guys are ready to go. Have fun at the beach; make sure Ian and the kids wear sunscreen, Mick." Lip reminded his brother-in-law.

"Yeah, okay. Act like Ian fuckin' listens to me." Mickey laughed. "Can you take Max to the bathroom before we take off, baby?"

"Yeah." Ian said with a nod, rushing off to take Max inside.

"You look better, Mick." Lip commented, noticing Mickey had started to put some weight back on. "How're you feelin'?"

"Okay." Mickey answered, still watching Harlow play with her canine best friend. "Got a little embarrassed havin' to tell my fuckin' therapist I wasn't eatin' 'cause my ex fuck buddy was sayin' shit about me bein' fat, but he said feelin' uncomfortable with your body is normal after you have a baby."

"Fuck him; you weren't even fat when you were pregnant." Lip said, feeling anger boiling in his blood at the thought of someone hurting one of the people he loved on such a deep level. "Look, I know you don't like the "sappy bullshit" we do, but you're family, Mick; we all love you."

"Thanks." Mickey said, turning to look at his brother-in-law. "You and Mandy are gonna get there, Lip. You know that, right? You're gonna have a baby, someday."

"Can I tell you something?" Lip asked before continuing at Mickey's nod. "I'm worried I'm gonna be as bad as Frank."

"You just acted like more of a dad to me than Terry did my whole fuckin' life; you've been a dad to Ian, Debbie, Carl, and Liam since you were a fuckin' kid, yourself. Trust me, you'll be fine."

"Thanks, Mick." Lip said, pulling the brunette man into a hug. "You guys have fun. We'll take good care of Jake and Hyde." Lip assured the man in front of him as Ian exited the house and the family piled into Ian's car.

 

 

"She fall asleep?" Ian asked Mickey quietly as he drove down a dark street, listening to the song playing on the radio. 

"Yeah, she's out." Mickey sighed. "God, I can't wait to get outta the fuckin' car for the night."

"Yeah, me, too." Ian groaned. "Hit Tennessee while you were sleepin' so we'll be at the hotel in a few minutes."

"Thank fuckin' God!" Mickey said. "How long have we been in the fuckin' car?"

"Ten hours." Ian sighed. "Ready to get some actual sleep?" Ian asked as they pulled up to a small hotel.

"Yeah. You get Harlow and I'll get Max?" Mickey asked, climbing out of the car. Ian nodded, scooping Harlow up and fallowing Mickey into the hotel, ready to get some sleep before they continue on to Myrtle Beach in the morning. He was excited to have a vacation with his family, and honestly couldn't wait to get to the beach with his babies.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to give them a little bit of happiness. Leave some comments to let me know how you feel. Much love!


	13. Vacation-Part Two

When the Gallagher family got to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina the next day Max kept staring out the window of their hotel room at the shore. "Can we go play on the beach, now?" Max asked, turning to where Mickey was changing Harlow into a swim diaper and her tiny ruffled, blue and white pinstriped bathing suit on the bed.

"Not until you change into your swim trunks, Chipmunk." Ian said, walking out of the bathroom in a grey tank top and his black and blue swim trunks. "Come on, everyone else is dressed, bud; hop to it." Ian instructed, handing his son the Batman t-shirt and swim trunks he'd picked out when they started planning to go to the beach. Max disappeared into the bathroom, leaving Mickey and Ian alone with Harlow.

 "She looks cute." Ian said, sitting on the bed next to Mickey as Harlow sat up and started crawling around.

"She always looks cute." Mickey deadpanned. "Looks like you."

"You look like Papa, Ladybug?" Ian cooed, lifting the girl up over his head.

"Ap!" Harlow laughed, slapping Ian's nose. "Dad dad." She giggled, holding her arms out to Mickey.

"She can say "Dad" and I'm still "Ap." Sounds like she's just demandin' I pick her up." Ian sighed, passing Harlow to Mickey.

"D sounds are easier for kids to pick up, at first; why most kids' first word is "dad."" Mickey replied without even having to think. "Mandy forced me to read a shit ton of parenting books when Max was a baby." Ian couldn't say anything. He knew Mickey was an excellent father-he'd seen the proof many times over-but he hadn't ever asked if his knowledge of children was learned through experience or if he'd read anything.

"Ready!" Max shouted as he ran out of the bathroom, breaking the silence in the room.

 

"Gonna get in the water?" Ian asked after they'd laid out their beach towels and applied a little more sunscreen to both children's pale skin.

"Might take Harlow in a little bit." Mickey said, adjusting the sunhat on Harlow's little head. "Max, wait for Papa to go in the water!" Mickey shouted as Max made a run for the ocean. "I'll stay up here with her; can't swim, anyway."

"You sure? Max can't really swim, so you can go down there with him if you want." Ian offered. He knew Mickey was still too self-conscious to remove his shirt, but he should get to enjoy himself on their vacation.

"I'm good." Mickey reassured Ian, pecking his lips, sweetly. "Go play with Max before the kid loses his damn mind." Ian laughed before running over to Max. "Just us, Ladybug." Mickey said, watching his daughter drum on her pail with her tiny shovel.

"Dad dad dad dad." Harlow babbled, drumming away on her toy pail. Mickey flipped the purple pail over and put a little sand in it, causing Harlow to stand up and clap her tiny hands. "Dad dad!" She giggled, still clapping.

"Yeah, dad dad's magic, kiddo." Mickey chuckled, standing up, himself. "Come on, Ladybug; let's go see if you like the water." Mickey walked behind Harlow, taking both of her hands and helping her take shaky steps towards the shoreline.

"Hey!" Ian called, running closer to the edge of the water with Max on his back.

"Ap!" Harlow shrieked, stomping her feet in the water.

"Hey, Ladybug!" Ian cooed, setting Max on his feet. "You like the water?"

"Wa!" Harlow laughed, letting go of Mickey's hands so she could splash in the water.

"Gonna take a wild guess and say that's a yes." Mickey said, smiling at Max as he sat in the water beside Harlow. "You gonna play with sissy, Chipmunk?"

"Yes!" Max laughed, splashing some water up, himself.

"You can swim out a little bit; I got 'em." Mickey told Ian as the taller man wrapped one long arm around his waist.

"Nah, I'm good. Rather be up here with you three." Ian said with a shrug, looking on as Harlow plopped herself down in the water with a laugh. "She's havin' fun."

"Wish she liked bath time this much." Mickey scoffed, leaning against Ian's side. "Make our job a lot fuckin' easier."

"Where's the fun in that?" Ian teased. "How're you doin'?"

"I feel good."Mickey replied, honestly. "Still not takin' my shirt off or nothin'."

"Good; I'm not sharin' when everyone sees how fuckin' sexy you look." Ian said, kissing the side of Mickey's neck. "You look perfect. Anyone who says anything different can go fuck themselves." Ian whispered against Mickey's neck, earning him a soft, sweet laugh.

 

"Daddy, can I get chicken?" Max asked later as they sat down at a little restaurant for lunch.

"Yeah, Chipmunk." Mickey replied as he fastened Harlow into a highchair. "Think sissy's gettin' Mac and Cheese."

"Chee! Chee!" Harlow shrieked, clapping her hands.

"Yeah, think that's an affirmative." Ian laughed. "What about you, baby?"

"Easy, I'm gettin' a burger. They look fuckin' awesome." Mickey replied, tilting his head towards the table across from them.

"Yeah, I'm with you." Ian said, looking over at the burger Mickey had pointed out.

"Can I say mine and sissy's?" Max asked, his big blue eyes fixed on Ian.

"Sure, bud." Ian answered, ruffling the boy's hair.

"Hi, I'm Ellie, and I'll be your waiter. We ready to order?" A cute blond girl said, with a bright, happy smile.

"Me first?" Max asked, looking at Mickey who nodded. "Can I have chicken strips and french fries? And sissy wants Macaroni and cheese, please." Max ordered politely.

"Sure thing, cutie." Ellie replied, writing the order down. "What about you guys?"

"Two bacon cheese burgers." Ian answered, secretly pleased that Mickey wanted something so fattening; he had missed that his husband wasn't afraid of eating before the shit with his ex, and was glad Mickey was almost back to normal.

"Comin' right up. Can I just say, your kids are beautiful." Ellie said, smiling at Max and Harlow as Max handed his sister one of his toy cars.

"Thanks." Mickey said as he helped Harlow roll her car around on the highchair tray. Ellie walked away to place their orders, but Ian was too busy watching his family to even notice.

 

"Kids had fun, today." Ian whispered later that night as he laid down next to Max and Mickey after putting Harlow to bed in her playpen.

"Yeah, they really did." Mickey replied, draping his arm over Max. "Think Max fell in love with the waitress, today."

"He could do worse; she was cute." Ian laughed, lacing his fingers with Mickey's. "You seem good."

"I'm gettin' there." Mickey replied, softly. "Might take awhile."

"Be right here when you do." Ian promised. "Get some sleep; kids are gonna want to go back to the beach early."

"Night. Love you." Mickey yawned, allowing his eyes to drift closed.

"Love you, too." Ian whispered before falling asleep, himself. He was happy, his kids were happy, and Mickey was doing better; Ian could think of worse ways to spend a vacation.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave me some comments to let me know what you think. Much Love!


	14. Home

Mickey was glad to be back to Chicago; though their vacation had been fun, he couldn't wait to be back in his own home. "Missed you guys!" Mandy exclaimed, hugging her brother, brother-in-law, Niece, and Nephew as they entered their house. "Hyde missed you, Chipmunk!"

"The fuck are you so happy for? I'm the one about to sleep in my own damn bed for the first time in a fuckin' week." Mickey sighed, dropping onto the couch with Harlow in his arms.

"Ake!" Harlow called out when Jake laid his head on the couch.

"How long were you guys on the road today?" Mandy asked, watching Ian set the family's bags down.

"About six hours." Ian groaned, dropping into the armchair. "Where's Lip?"

"Pickin' Liam up from Carl's place." Mandy said, sitting next to Max in the floor as the boy played with his dog.

"Seriously, why the hell are you so happy?" Mickey asked through a yawn.

"I'm pregnant." Mandy said with a watery smile. "Almost six years of tryin' and I'm finally havin' a baby."

"Shit, Mands." Mickey muttered, standing up to hug his sister.

"I'm gonna be a mom." Mandy laughed, hugging Mickey back.

"Congratulations, Mandy." Ian said, standing up to hug his sister-in-law. "You're gonna be a great mom."

"I'm gettin' a cousin?" Max asked, tugging lightly at Mandy's shirt.

"Sure are, little man." Mandy said with a wide smile.

"Yes! Sissy, we get a cousin!" Max exclaimed, causing Harlow to laugh despite obviously having no idea what was going on.

 

"Max finally fell asleep." Ian said as he made his way back into the living room where Mickey was cleaning up the kids' toys. "Kid has way too many questions about where babies come from."

"I ain't fuckin' explainin' sex to our six year-old." Mickey said, putting Max's favorite toy cars in the toy box.

"Yeah, that talk's waitin' 'til he gets older." Ian laughed. "I just keep tellin' him when parents want a baby really bad, a baby starts growin' in a mommy or daddy's belly." Ian started picking up toys alongside his husband, placing them in the toy box in the corner of the living room.

"Sounds like you handled it better than I would." Mickey complimented. "God, six hours in a car with two fuckin' kids is fuckin' exhaustin'! How the hell did they have enough energy to play when we got home?"

"They're six and one, baby." Ian reminded Mickey, turning the man around and wrapping his arms around Mickey's slim waist. "Love you."

"What'd you do?" Mickey teased, wrapping his arms around Ian's neck.

"Nothin'. I'm just really fuckin' proud of you; you're doin' so much better, baby." Ian whispered. "I love you so much, Mick."

"Love you, too." Mickey whispered, leaning forward to kiss Ian softly. "I'm tired as fuck. You ready to go to bed?"

"Yeah." Ian said, leading Mickey to their bedroom for the night.

 

"Papa?" Max whispered, tapping Ian's arm as he stood next to Ian and Mickey's bed.

"What're you doin' up, bud?" Ian tiredly asked the small boy, opening his eyes to look down at his son.

"I had a bad dream... Can I sleep with you and Daddy?" Max asked quietly, pulling his Ninja Turtle closer to his body.

"Yeah, baby boy." Ian whispered, picking Max up and laying him down between Mickey and himself. "You remember your dream?"

"You and Daddy wanted another baby and he was Chipmunk." Max sniffed, his bright blue eyes locked on Ian's green ones.

"Baby boy, you're always gonna be our Chipmunk. Daddy and I love you so much." Ian kissed Max's head. "I promise, even if Daddy and I ever do decide to have another baby, we'll always love you and you'll always be our little Chipmunk, okay?" Max nodded. "Go to sleep, baby boy. Papa loves you."

"I love you, too, Papa." Max whispered as he closed his eyes. Mickey sat up once Max had fallen asleep, looking over at Ian.

"He knows you love him, Ian." Mickey whispered, reaching over to take Ian's hand.

"I know... just don't want him to think we'll just replace him." Ian whispered, looking at his son.

"He's a kid, baby; he's just scared we can't love a bunch of kids equally." Mickey soothed. "Max is gonna be fine by morning." Mickey laid back down, pulling Ian's arm enough that they were both holding Max. Ian watched Mickey fall back asleep before drifting off, himself, hoping Mickey was right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know a lot of kids fear their parents won't love them as much if another child comes along, so I wanted to show Max dealing with that after finding out Mandy was having a baby. Leave me some comments and let me know what you think about this chapter. Much love!


	15. Sleep Well, My Angel

Being home meant Ian and Mickey had to return to work. They both liked their jobs, but spending two whole weeks with their children without work or school was something they had both enjoyed. "I swear, if it wasn't for the freckles and hair he'd look just like you." Fiona said with a smile as she looked through the photos from the family's vacation on Mickey's phone.

"Got Ian's smile, too." Mickey pointed out, taking a bite of his food.

"How the hell would anyone know if he had yours? You never fuckin' smile!" Fiona laughed before it was cut off by a gasp as she scrolled to another picture. "Oh my God! Can I send myself this one?" She pleaded, showing Mickey a picture of Max helping Harlow build a sand castle.

"Yeah, take any of 'em you want; I'll tell Ian to send you some of the ones he got, later." Mickey said with an adoring expression as he looked at the picture of his adorable babies.

"Thanks!" Fiona said, turning the phone around and sending the picture before she started scrolling, again. "Love this one of Ian and Max in the ocean; they look so happy."

"Max loved it; Harlow just liked splashin'." Mickey said with a soft laugh. "So, Grace said you and Jack have been flirtin'."

"He's nice; not very motivated, but nice." Fiona said, shrugging it off as she continued to look through the pictures of her niece and nephew. "We don't all find "the one" at seventeen."

"Not sayin' it's a bad thing; he's been workin' harder since you got the Assistant Manager job, thinkin' he wants to impress you." Mickey stated flatly, wiping his mouth. "Go for it; he's not bad lookin'."

"Not hot?" Fiona teased, still looking down at Mickey's phone when she came to a picture of Ian and Mickey kissing.

"Kinda biased." Mickey said with a shrug. "I know I don't got that many pictures from Myrtle Beach."

"No, now I'm lookin' at you and my brother bein' all fuckin' adorable." Fiona laughed as Mickey snatched his phone back. "You guys look so happy."

"Are happy." Mickey said, pocketing his phone. "Everything's been goin' good since we got back together; had a few bumps in the road, but we actually talk about shit this time around."

"Good. You two are doin' good for each other." Fiona said, offering her brother-in-law a smile. "You guys thinkin' about more kids?"

"Not right now. Maybe some day, but for now we're happy with Max and Harlow." Mickey said, biting down on his bottom lip. Sure, he'd told Ian he was never having another child, but he would honestly love to have another child at some point in the future if his husband wanted to.

 

"Hey, baby." Ian greeted his husband with a kiss as he entered the house after work.

"Where're the kids?" Mickey asked, noticing their children weren't in the living room.

"Max wanted to play in his room and Harlow's takin' a nap." Ian said, walking into the kitchen to finish dinner. "You have a good day at work?"

"Yeah; wasn't a bad first day back. Miss the kids, though." Mickey said, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge.

"Know what you mean; I called their babysitter at least three times to check on 'em." Ian sighed, stirring the spaghetti sauce on the stove. "Hate bein' away from them all day."

"I know; if I could stay home with 'em all day, I would." Mickey sighed, sitting at the bar. "Can I ask you somethin'?"

"You know you can, baby." Ian said, looking up from where he was stirring a pot of pasta.

"You ever think about havin' more kids?" Mickey nervously asked. He looked away from Ian's wide, bright green eyes towards the baby monitor on the counter.

"Yeah, I mean... I'd love to have another kid, someday, but I didn't think you'd ever want another one." Ian stuttered out, staring at Mickey. "You want another baby?"

"Yeah. Not right now-the kids still need us too much-but I want another one, someday." Mickey replied, jumping up when Harlow started shouting "Daddad" through the baby monitor, effectively ending the conversation for the time being. Ian's mind was wheeling; his husband wanted another child at one point, but what if he passed on his disorder to one of their children? He never wanted his children to go through what he had before he was diagnosed. He shook his head, trying to think of the best parts of being a father, and ignoring the panic rising in his chest at the idea of cursing one of his beloved children the way Monica did him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave me some comments to let me know what you think. Much love!


	16. Helpful Words

Mickey and Ian hadn't really talked about having another child after that night, and Ian had almost completely forgotten about it by the time he volunteered at the beginning of the year bake sale at Max's school. "Papa!" Max shouted, waving his tiny arms as his class approached the tables.

"You're Max's father?" A man at Ian's side asked. Ian nodded and continued to bag cookies. "My daughter is in love with that boy, man; thinks he's the best person, ever." The man laughed, passing a cupcake to a small girl.

"He's a lot like my husband." Ian said, signaling for Max to come closer. "Here ya go, Chipmunk." He said, handing Max the cookie and brownie he'd gotten him.

"Thank you, Papa!" Max chirped, stepping around the table to quickly hug Ian.

"Welcome, bud. Go back to your class, okay? I'll see you after school." Ian said, hugging his son back. "Love you."

"Love you, too, Papa!" Max called, skipping back to his class with his treats.

"He your only one?" The man at Ian's side asked as the haded kids the baked goods they wanted.

"No, we have a daughter, too; she's one." Ian replied, chuckling softly as he saw Max happily dancing against the far wall with one of his friends.

"Ever think about havin' more? My husband and I got five of 'em; love every second of the chaos." The man said, passing a small bag of treats to a little girl with curly, dark hair and thick eyelashes. "My baby girl, Breelynn."

"She's beautiful." Ian complimented, watching the girl dance over to Max. "She your youngest?"

"Middle; got two older-the oldest is ten and the second oldest is eight-and two younger-they're four and six months-but Breelynn's our only girl." The man said with a smile. "Logan Michaels." He said, extending a hand to Ian.

"Ian Gallagher." Ian replied, shaking Logan's hand.

"Nice to meet ya, Ian." Logan said, watching his daughter talk to Max. "Kids are the best, man; no matter what you did before 'em or what problems you got, they love ya."

"Sounds like it comes from experience." Ian said calmly, though his mind was going a thousand miles an hour, trying to imagine one of his children still loving him if they were stuck with his fucked up disorder.

"Does. I was in a bad place when I met my husband-still was when he got pregnant with our oldest-and bein' Bipolar didn't help, but I got the help I needed and now I got an amazing husband and five beautiful babies." Logan said, turning to face Ian. Ian looked at the older man, green eyes meeting kind, dark brown ones as a wide smile came to his face, crinkles appearing in the dark skin around his eyes. "No matter what, my kids think their Daddy's a hero."

"Aren't you scared one of your kids will be Bipolar?" Ian asked, glad Max's class had left and there was a lull in kids.

"Yeah, but I know they won't go through what I did, 'cause Taylor and I are gonna be there for 'em." Logan said with a shrug.

"I''m Bipolar, too; didn't do too well about the first two years after my symptoms started showin' and I was diagnosed. My husband wants another kid and I'm terrified I'll pass it down to one of my kids." Ian said quietly.

"It's always possible, but havin' kids is worth it, Ian." Logan said kindly. "Trust me, you guys'll get through it."

 

"Daddy! I got a brownie and a cookie!" Max yelled as Mickey entered the house after work.

"You did? Did you save me some?" Mickey asked his son, lifting him off the floor.

"No!" Max laughed, obviously still on a bit of a sugar rush.

"What? You didn't save your Daddy any brownies?!" Mickey gasped, tickling the boys sides. "What good are ya if you don't get me brownies?!" Max continued to laugh and kick his tiny legs.

"Mickey, release the boy." Ian said with a fond smile as Mickey laid on the floor with Max, still tickling the boy as Hyde and Jake licked their faces.

"Why should I?" Mickey asked, blowing raspberries in Max's stomach.

"So the girl can see her Daddy." Ian said, helping Harlow walk towards the chaos.

"Daddad!" Harlow shrieked upon seeing Mickey.

"Fine. Only 'cause she wants her Daddad." Mickey said, releasing Max with a wet kiss to his cheek. "Come 'ere, Ladybug." Mickey said as he sat up, holding out his arms and giving Ian a look that told him to release her hands. Harlow still wasn't walking on her own, just yet, and they were trying to get her there as seamlessly as possible.

"Daddad 'iss?" Harlow asked, trying to take a wobbly step towards Mickey.

"Yeah, Daddad will give you a kiss, too." Mickey said, trying not to scream out in happiness as she took another uneasy step. "Just a little more, Ladybug." Harlow took another step and smiles broke out on Ian, Mickey, and Max's faces. "Doin' good, Ladybug." Mickey praised as Harlow slowly made her way closer to Mickey. "You did it!" Mickey cheered, planting a kiss on Harlow's button nose.

"Papa!" Harlow cheered, looking up at Ian with wide blue eyes.

"She didn't call me "ap."" Ian said with pride as he sat in the floor with the rest of his family. "Good job, Ladybug." Ian praised, kissing his daughter's cheek.

"You did it, Sissy; you walked!" Max cheered, playing with his sister's hand.

"Alk! Alk!" Harlow shouted, waving her tiny arms.

"Sure did, Harlow." Mickey said, hugging her close to his chest as Ian looked on in complete awe.

 

"Let's do it." Ian said out of the blue as he and Mickey cleaned up toys in the living room after putting the kids to bed.

"Do what, exactly? 'Cause if that's how you ask for sex, these days, you're gettin' fuckin' lazy." Mickey said, closing the lid on Max's toy box and standing up straight.

"Like I'd have to fuckin' ask; you love my dick... No. Lets have another baby." Ian said, more shyly towards the end.

"You serious?" Mickey asked, turning to stare straight into Ian's bright green eyes.

"Yeah. Even if one of the kids is Bipolar, they got us and we won't let 'em hurt like I did." Ian said, stepping closer to Mickey, cupping the shorter man's face. "I want another baby with you, Mick. And maybe this one'll look like their Daddy."

"Max looks like me." Mickey pointed out, though he was looking at Ian as if the redhead was his whole fucking world.

"He does... But I'd like at least one kid to have that beautiful dark hair." Ian whispered, leaning in to kiss Mickey. "You still want another baby with me?" 

"Yeah. Let's do it." Mickey said with a wide, teary smile.

"You askin' for sex? 'Cause that's pretty fuckin' lazy." Ian teased, earning a slap to his arm.

"Like I'd have to fuckin' ask; you love my ass." Mickey replied, smirking at Ian in a knowing manner.

"I do." Ian whispered, pulling Mickey to his chest and dropping one hand down to Mickey's perfect ass. "Love grabbin' it, bitting it, watching it when you ride my dick, love feelin' it around me... Fuck, baby, you've got the most perfect ass." Ian moaned out, nipping at Mickey's ear the whole time he spoke.

"Fuck. Bed." Mickey gasped, pulling Ian towards their bedroom. Both men started shedding their close the moment their bedroom door closed, stopping occasionally to kiss each other before Ian threw Mickey onto their bed, crawling up his body slowly, planting kisses on his skin as he went.

"So fuckin' beautiful, baby." Ian whispered against Mickey's jaw. 

"Fuck me. Please, fuck me, Ian." Mickey moaned, rocking up against Ian's hips. "I'm good... I need you." He gasped as a slick finger entered his body.

"Not fuckin' you like that, baby; did that enough when we started." Ian soothed, taking Mickey's cock in his left hand as his fingers on his right hand opened his husband up. "Love you, so much, Mick." Ian whispered, crooking his fingers just enough to hit Mickey's prostate.

"Ian!" Mickey gasped, reaching up to pull Ian's gorgeous, sweat drenched red locks. "Ian, fuck! Please!" Ian leaned forward, connecting their lips in a sloppy, uncoordinated kiss as he replaced his fingers with his cock. "Fuckin' finally!" Mickey moaned, throwing his head back in ecstasy.

"Fuck, you feel so good, baby." Ian moaned, thrusting hard and fast into Mickey. "God, I fuckin' love you." He continued to pump Mickey's cock as he fucked into the older man's body, trying to get Mickey off before he, himself, reached his climax. "You close?" Mickey was too lost in pleasure to speak, he simply nodded and rocked his hips faster against Ian's. "Come for me, baby." Ian whispered, watching as Mickey's body seized, ropes of hot cum covering Ian's hand and Mickey's ass clenching down harder on his cock.

"Fuck!" Ian gasped, releasing deep inside Mickey. " God damn that was good." Ian sighed, dropping down onto Mickey's chest.

"Too fuckin' tired to move." Mickey panted, wrapping his arms around Ian. "Sleep."

"Yes, Dear." Ian chuckled, kissing Mickey's chin and cuddling back into Mickey's chest as both men drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave me some comments and let me know what you think. Much love!


	17. Should've Been Us

The thing about a Gallagher/Milkovich relationship is, it'll never be completely smoothe sailing; sure, Mickey and Ian were in a better place than they had been as teenagers, but even they hit a few speed bumps now and then. Lip and Mandy didn't always have the easiest time, but Lip knew he'd never want to be annoyed by anyone else; he was in love, and nothing could change that. "Lip?" Lip recognized that voice; he'd spent enough time hating the man who owned it for having what he wanted to forget it. What the hell was Jody doing back in Chicago? He and Karen had left years ago with Karen's baby after... Lip couldn't bring himself to think about what Mandy had done-what the woman he loved and who was carrying his child had done-to Karen in a jealous rage.

"Hey, man!" Jody exclaimed when Lip looked up from the computer he was working on, plopping himself down in the chair across from Lip's work station.

"Hey... What're you doin' back here?" Lip asked, plastering on a fake smile; Jody was a nice guy, but some part of Lip still hated him for having Karen when he never could.

"Came back to see Mom." Lip cringed internally as he said this, knowing Jody and Sheila had once been in a relationship when he and Karen had gotten a divorce. "Her computer's here, so I offered to pick it up."

"Yeah, Sheila's should be done. Scotty works the desk; he can tell you." Lip said, looking back down at the laptop in front of him.

"You should come visit Karen; she'd like to see you." Jody said as he stood up and walked to the front desk. Lip shook his head, trying desperately to get the images of Karen in that hospital bed off his mind as he worked.

 

"Fuck off, Ian!" Mickey shouted as Lip walked into Mickey and Ian's house after work. "I'm not dressin' up as fuckin' Dumbledore."

"It'll be cute! Max wants to be Harry Potter, Harlow can be Hedwig, I'll be Hagrid, and you'll be Dumbledore; we can do a family thing!" Ian pleaded, cornering Mickey against the kitchen counter. "Please, baby?"

"Don't mind me; I'll just watch you two screw on the counter." Lip said, making his presence known. "Where are the kids?"

"Upstairs with Liam and Mandy. Lip, tell Mick he should do a costume theme with Max and Harlow!" Ian begged, wrapping his arms tightly around Mickey.

"Harlow would make a cute Owl." Lip offered as his only help.

"My baby would be a cute anything." Mickey mumbled. "If Harlow likes the owl costume I'll do it. If not, no fuckin' dice."

"Deal!" Ian agreed, swooping in to kiss Mickey on the lips. Ian swatted Mickey's ass as he walked towards the stairs to go up and check on their children. "You okay? Look like you saw a ghost."

"Jody and Karen are in Chicago." Lip said, plopping himself down in a kitchen chair. "Thinkin' about her again just... I almost forgot what Mandy did, you know? We were happy and now I keep picturing Karen in that fucking hospital bed because Mandy got jealous."

"Mandy's not a bad person, Lip; she was raised by a fuckin' asshole who taught his kids violence was the only way to get what you want outta life, but she knows better, now." Ian reminded Lip, taking a seat across from his older brother. "Mick was the same way, but he got out of that shit just like Mandy did."

"Yeah, but he never hit your ex with a fucking car." Lip argued, looking down at the tabletop.

"He beat the shit outta my ex in the middle of the street, once." Ian said with a shrug. "Look, the Milkoviches aren't perfect, but neither are the Gallaghers, so we got no right to judge."

"Easy for you to say; you two are pretty much fuckin' perfect, now." Lip seethed, rapping his fingers against the table.

"No we're fuckin' not!" Ian exclaimed with a laugh. "We're both fucked up; we just know we gotta talk our shit out, now, 'cause we got kids."

"What's gonna happen to me and Mandy when our kid gets here? Am I gonna think about how Karen could've been the one to have my kids? To start a family with me? That I wake up to every morning?" Lip rattled off in a broken voice.

"You better fuckin' not." Ian barked out in a bitter voice. "She loved you when you were stuck up Karen's ass and fuckin' cheated on her; she loved you when you threw her aside like she was fuckin' nothing! Like it or fuckin' not, Mandy was the one who stuck by you through everything and you still don't deserve her." Ian sighed, leaning back in his chair. "You wanna think you're different, now, but you're provin' you're still the asshole you were when you were seventeen."

"That's not fuckin' fair! We don't all get the love of our fuckin' lives!" Lip yelled, glaring at Ian until he realized what he'd said. "I didn't-"

"Mean it? Is that what you were gonna say? You didn't mean to make it sound like you went with your second fuckin' choice? She's my fuckin' family, Lip! You can't keep treatin' her like fuckin' shit and walkin' away when you get bored!" Ian yelled, standing up from his chair and glaring down at Lip with a harsh, cold expression.

"The fuck is goin' on down here?" Mickey asked as he descended the stairs with Harlow in his arms and Mandy, Liam, and Max behind him. 

"Fix your shit, Lip." Ian seethed, trying to calm down so he didn't scare the children in the room. "Nothing, Mick; family shit."

"Last time I checked almost everyone in this fuckin' house's last name is "Gallagher."" Mickey said, shooting Ian a "don't you dare lie to me" look.

"Lip's an asshole." Ian said with a shrug, picking his son up and kissing his cheek.

"Nothin' new there." Mickey said, setting Harlow on her tiny feet. "Mandy, take the kids outside." Mickey said, not looking away from his husband and brother-in-law as his very pregnant sister walked out to the back yard with the three children. "What the fuck were you two screamin' about? And don't you dare fuckin' lie to me, Ian."

"It's nothing, ba-" Mickey cut Ian off with a fierce, angry glare.

"Don't fuckin' try that shit on me, Ian! I heard you fuckin' yellin' about Mandy when she was in the fuckin' bathroom so tell me what happened!" Mickey yelled, shocking Lip who hadn't actually heard Mickey yell at Ian since they'd gotten back together. "So either you or Lip are gonna tell me what the fuck he did to my sister!"

"Karen is back." Lip said without thinking.

"You gotta be fuckin' kidding me!" Mickey screamed, pacing the living room. "You're gonna pull that shit, again? You're gonna hurt my fuckin' sister again? Fuck no. Fuck no!" Mickey shouted, dropping to the floor, gasping for air.

"Mick! Mickey, baby, breathe!" Ian exclaimed, dropping down next to Mickey. "Baby, what's wrong?"

"Sh-she c-can't do it again!" Mickey wheezed. "Sh-she b-barely m-made it last time." Mickey whimpered.

"What're you talking about, Mickey?" Lip asked as gently as he could, kneeling next to Mickey and Ian.

"H-he t-tried to k-kill Mandy." Mickey sobbed, digging his nails into the hardwood floor. "You did that to her!" Lip was silent, wondering why his girlfriend hadn't told him what Kenyatta had done to her, but he couldn't say anything as Ian tried to calm Mickey down, despite the other man trying weakly to shove him away. Mandy may have done something horrible, but he had pushed her to do it; had pushed someone who loved him away and had caused her to leave with her abusive boyfriend.

 

"You okay?" Ian asked quietly as Mickey laid curled up on the couch with Harlow sleeping on his chest and Max curled up against his side.

"Fuckin' peachy; your asshole brother's gonna wind up leavin' my pregnant sister for a former fuckin' whore with the mental capacity of our daughter. I'm fuckin' great." Mickey mumbled sarcastically. "How could I not be?"

"We won't let Mandy hurt, baby." Ian whispered, sitting on the arm of the couch. "I promise, we'll take care of Mandy."

"I hope you're right." Mickey muttered, looking down at the sleeping children. "Go to bed; I'm gonna stay here with the kids." Ian was hurt; they never slept separately, but he understood that Mickey was still recovering from a panic attack and needed Max-the only person he'd had for so many years-close to him. Ian nodded, kissing Mickey's hair before walking off to bed, alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I needed to add a little drama, and I'm sorry for that. Leave me some comments to let me know what you think. Much love!


	18. The Damage Is Done

For two weeks fallowing Mickey's panic attack Ian noticed some changes in his husband; the biggest of which was he didn't want Ian anywhere near him at any time. Ian was completely pissed off at Lip for the shit he'd pulled and the fact that it was effecting his marriage to Mickey as well as his own relationship with Mandy. "Papa, five more minutes!" Max begged through a yawn. "I wanna finish the movie."

"Nope. Sorry, buddy; you got school in the morning." Ian stated, lifting Max off his makeshift bed on the floor. "Don't you wanna go to your Halloween party?"

"Is Daddy coming?" Max asked, looking up at Ian with tired blue eyes. Mickey had taken the day of Max's class Halloween party off so he could be one of the parent volunteers, and Max had been beyond excited to know his father would be in class with him.

"Sure is. So you gotta get some sleep or you and Daddy won't have any fun." Ian said, propping the boy on his hip.

"Okay. Is Daddy putting Sissy to bed?" Ian nodded as he ascended the stairs with Max in his arms. "Can we go tell Daddy goodnight, Papa?" Max asked, resting his head on Ian's shoulder.

"Yeah, buddy." Ian replied, walking to Harlow's bedroom where Mickey sat in the rocking chair with Harlow curled up in his lap, her left thumb in her mouth and her right hand squeezing the fingers on Mickey's left hand. "Max wanted to say goodnight." Ian said, setting Max on the ground. Mickey nodded, holding his other arm out so Max could climb into his lap with his baby sister.

"You gonna wear your Harry Potter costume or the monster costume Aunt Fiona got you, tomorrow?" Mickey asked quietly, hugging both of his children closer to his chest.

"Monster. I wanna be Harry Potter to trick or treat." Max mumbled, pressing his face into Mickey's neck.

"Okay, baby boy." Mickey kissed Max's forehead. "Daddy loves you, Max."

"Love you, too, daddy." Max yawned, curling up closer to Mickey. "Night, Daddy." Max mumbled, slowly crawling out of Mickey's lap and walking over to Ian, ready to head off to bed.

 

"You ever gonna speak to me again or is this just what we are, now?" Ian asked, entering the bedroom with his arms crossed as Mickey got ready for bed. "Mickey, come on! You're gonna have to talk to me, sometime!"

"Got nothin' to say." Mickey said, pulling a t-shirt on.

"Nothin' to say? You haven't fuckin' talked to me since Lip and Mandy were here!" Ian exclaimed, moving closer to his husband. "Mick, Lip's shit isn't on us; don't let him bein' an asshole ruin us." Ian practically begged, wrapping his arms around Mickey from behind, burying his face in the brunette's neck.

"Mandy's the smart one." Mickey said, Twisting the silver band on his left ring finger.

"You're smart as fuck, Mick." Ian murmured against his neck.

"Looks the most like Mom; always thought Mom was beautiful." Mickey admitted. "If he's gonna leave her for that fuckin' bitch I got no fuckin' hope that you'll stick around."

"I'm not Lip." Ian said slowly, turning Mickey around. "I'm not leavin' you. Now or ever. You're not gettin' rid of me." Ian brushed messy strands of black hair away from Mickey's eyes, smiling softly at the way the older man leaned into his touch. "Hair's gettin' long."

"Need to cut it." Mickey said closing his eyes as Ian scratched his scalp. He had missed letting his husband touch him and had missed talking to the redhead; he loved his husband, even when he had moments of fear where he worried he'd lose him.

"I like it." Ian said, brushing his lips against Mickey's hairline. "Like everything about my Mickey."

"Don't fuckin' belong to you." Mickey scoffed, wrapping his own arms around Ian's neck.

"Want me to prove that you do?" Ian challenged, nipping along Mickey's jaw.

"Jus' hold me." Mickey whispered. "I'm yours, so hold me, asshole." Ian laughed softly, tightening his arms around the other man, just happy to have his husband in his arms, again after two long weeks without him.

 

"Daddy!" Max screamed as Mickey walked into his classroom with the bright orange Rice Krispy pumpkins Ian and Max made the night before. The little werewolf ran at his father, wrapping himself tightly around Mickey's leg. "Breelynn likes my costume, Daddy!" Max giggled, still clinging to his father. Mickey had never been more thankful for Fiona than when-after Ian and himself had already purchased his Harry Potter costume-Max said he wanted a different costume for school. The woman had brought Mickey a werewolf costume to the restaurant the next day, saying Max needed a scary costume.

"That's good, Chipmunk. Let Daddy give these to your teacher and I'll come back over here, okay?" Max nodded, releasing Mickey so he could go over to Miss Lauder.

"Hi, Mister Gallagher." Miss Lauder said with a warm smile, taking the treats to the table as Mickey looked around at the zombies, vampires, Ninja Turtles, princesses, superheroes, and miscellaneous Disney Characters scattered around the room. "Max is our only little Werewolf, today."

"Was gonna be Harry Potter, but he told his Aunt he wanted two costumes so she went out and bought him that one." Mickey said, chuckling as his son danced in his seat while the little girl next to him giggled. Mickey made his way back over to Max, letting the boy shove candy in his mouth. "Thanks, Chipmunk."

"Welcome, Daddy." Max chirped, coloring a picture of a jack-o-lantern with Breelynn.

"Mister Gallagher, what're you gonna be for Halloween?" Breelynn asked sweetly, passing Mickey an Orange crayon.

"Daddy was gonna be Dumbledore and Papa was gonna be Hagrid, but sissy got scared so Daddy's a vampire and Papa's gonna be spy!" Max chirped with a giggle.

"What's the baby gonna be?" Breelynn asked Mickey, her gappy little smile and her dark brown eyes making Mickey smile, himself.

"Harlow picked out a duck costume." Mickey said, making both kids laugh. He loved seeing his little boy this happy, and made a mental note to get to know the girl's parents so Max could spend more time with his friend.

 

"And I won best costume! Miss Lauder said I was the only Werewolf, Papa!" Max rambled as the family ate dinner. "Daddy ate snacks with me!"

"Sounds like you had a good day, Chipmunk." Ian said, putting green beans on Max's plate.

"I did! Daddy even colored pictures with me and Breelynn." Max said, digging into his food.

"Think he ate enough sugar to keep him up for a fuckin' week." Mickey said, trying to get a giggling Harlow to eat some of her green beans.

"No 'een! No 'een, DadDad!" Harlow said, shaking her head, causing her messy curls to fly around her head in graceless dance of copper and mahogany.

"Yes, bean." Mickey said, lifting the fork up to Harlow's mouth. "Don't remember it bein' this hard to get Max to eat; all this kids wants to eat is Macaroni and cheese or bananas." Mickey tried again to get Harlow to take a bite of her food when the doorbell rang, causing Jake and Hyde to bark and run towards the front door.

"Get Ladybug a banana and I'll get the door." Ian said, standing up from his spot at the table and passing both dogs as he made his way to the door. "Jake, Hyde, lay down." Both dogs obeyed, going over to Jake's bed as Ian opened the front door, a teary-eyed Mandy standing outside with both hands on her extended abdomen.

"Can I crash here, tonight?" Mandy asked, sniffling as she pulled her jacket tighter around her in an attempt to fight off the late October chill.

"Of course, Mands." Ian said, pulling his sister-in-law into a tight hug as she sobbed into his shoulder.

 

Mickey and Ian set Mandy up on the futon in the Den, lighting the fireplace to offer her some extra warmth and giving her some of Mickey's sweatpants and one of Ian's old t-shirts to sleep in. She hadn't told her brother or brother-in-law what had transpired, but both men were almost positive they knew; Lip decided to go to Karen. "Your brother is fuckin' dead meat." Mickey seethed once both men exited the Den and headed to their bedroom. Ian nodded in agreement, ready to kill his brother, himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave me some comments and let me know what you think of this chapter. Much love!


	19. I Need Saving? No, Fuck No!

"You're such an asshole!" Ian shouted as he entered Lip's apartment the next day. "She's fuckin'  _pregnant with your kid!_ How the hell could you pull this shit now?!" Ian waited for Liam to close his bedroom door before throwing a punch at Lip's jaw and delivering a knee to his groin. "What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

"Chill the fuck out, Ian! I went to fuckin' see her and Mandy freaked the fuck out and left!" Lip yelled, wiping blood off his chin. "Forgot how hard you hit."

"Be glad Mick talked me out of fuckin' killin' you." Ian seethed. "Why the hell did you go see her?"

"I needed to know if anything was still there; see if I really do love her." Lip said, earning another knee to his groin. "What the fuck, Ian?!"

"She fuckin' used you! You were nothing to Karen but a walking Dildo that could do her fuckin' homework!" Ian exclaimed. "You really think that's love? 'Cause if it is I married the wrong fuckin' person; I should've married Kash or Ned if usin' someone means you love 'em."

"You thought you loved Kash before Mickey came along." Lip pointed out before moving to block Ian from kneeing his dick again.

"I was fifteen and he paid attention to me. I know better, now, and so should you." Ian said, still glaring at his older brother. "I told you before to stop treating Mandy like fuckin' trash and you didn't. So man up or you're gonna lose the woman who  _does_ love you. And your daughter."

"My daughter?" Lip repeated, looking up at Ian in shock. "Mandy didn't tell me we were having a girl."

"She knew you wanted a girl, so she was gonna surprise you on your birthday with it; had the whole fuckin' thing planned out." Ian informed his brother. "Got this onsie that says "Daddy's little princess", had the ultrasound tech put "hi daddy" on the picture, and got a pink frame to put it in. She knew you'd be fuckin' ecstatic when you found out you guys were havin' a girl." 

"Mandy did all that?" Lip asked, limping over to the couch. "Why?"

"Because she loves you and knows you wanted Arya." Ian reminded Lip. "Said you chose the name."

"Yeah... She said she was sure we'd have a boy-that she'd be like Mick and have a boy then a girl-but she said if I had a name for a girl we'd use it when we  _did_ have a daughter... Arya Caylin Gallagher."

"She's gonna be here in a few months. You really wanna go through what I did when I lost Mickey? Because I'll tell ya, it fuckin' hurts." Ian started walking to the door on that note, only turning around to leave Lip with a final warning. "Losin' Mickey and Max for five years was worse than anything my Disorder has ever done to me, and all the blame for it falls on me; no matter how bad I wish I could blame bein' Bipolar, it was my fault. What're you gonna blame if you lose Mandy and Arya?"

 

"And miss Anne said I'm the best helper! She gave me an extra cookie at snack time for helping with Sissy!" Max said, recounting his day with his babysitter over dinner.

"That's great, Chipmunk!" Ian beamed, ruffling his son's hair.

"Proud of you, bud." Mickey said with a smile as he fed Harlow a bite of her dinner, only pausing when he realized she'd eaten a bite of peas.

"Yay, Sissy!" Max shouted, clapping his hands as Harlow happily chewed her peas.

"'Een, Daddad!" Harlow babbled, opening her mouth for more food.

"Dinner always like this with kids?" Mandy asked with a soft laugh, watching as Max moved to Ian's lap to finish his own dinner.

"Pretty much." Ian nodded, attempting to move Max out of his lap when the doorbell rang.

"I got it." Mandy offered, standing up fairly quick for a woman who was currently five months pregnant and walking to the front door.

"Hi, Mandy." Ian could hear Liam mutter from the front door.

"Hey, Liam!" Mandy sounded excited-that didn't surprise Ian, Mandy loves Liam-but he knew if Liam was here, so was Lip.

"Max, Papa's gonna go say hi to your Uncle Liam, okay?" Ian whispered to his son, receiving a nod before Max climbed back into his own chair. Ian glanced at Mickey-who was still pretty busy feeding Harlow-before walking to the door, seeing Liam hugging Mandy and Lip standing off to the side with a box in his hands.

"That my stuff?" Mandy asked, looking at the box Lip was holding. Ian clenched his fists at his side, ready to add another bruise to Lip's face as soon as Liam was no longer between them.

"Not exactly." Lip said shyly, looking at Ian for permission to walk in. Ian nodded, watching Lip closely as he sat the box down on the table and helped Mandy take a seat on the couch. "I'm a dick-I know that-and I shouldn't have went to see Karen, because I know what I had with her was nothing. Not compared to what we have... Ian helped me figure my shit out. With a couple knees to my dick and a fist to my fuckin' jaw."

Ian tried not to laugh-or feel proud that he still packed a pretty good right hook-as Lip spoke, but he was wondering what the hell Lip had in that damn box. "He also may have told me about your surprise." Lip said shyly, sitting on the coffee table next to the box. "Everything we got was gender neutral because you wanted to surprise me on my birthday... But after Ian knocked some sense into me, I got Arya some stuff." Lip opened the box and handed Mandy a pink receiving blanket covered in tiny crowns.

"Mick and Ian have a Chipmunk and a Ladybug, and we have a princess." Lip said, smiling at Mandy as she traced one of the crowns with the tip of her finger.

"Hey, Mick?" Ian called towards the kitchen.

"Yeah?" Mickey yelled back.

"Can I please kill my brother? He's tryin' to steal or thing!" Ian yelled, earning him a laugh from both Mandy and Lip.

"Don't get blood on any of the kids' shit!" Was Mickey's reply, which caused Ian to start laughing. He watched Lip hand Mandy two-very feminine-pink onsies, some Cinderella pajamas, and a mobile with butterflies and crowns. His brother had fucked up, but he wanted to make it up to Mandy. He just hoped it was for the right reasons.

 

"Think he's doin' this for Mandy or the baby?" Mickey asked quietly, tracing the long, jagged scar on Ian's right side with a feather-light touch Ian never would have expected Mickey to be capable of nine years ago.

"Both." Ian replied, trying not to be lulled to sleep by the soft caress of Mickey's hand on his scarred flesh.

"Hope so." Mickey sighed, draping his arm over Ian. "You know, she told me she wanted what I had; wanted Lip to look at her like you look at me."

"How do I look at you?" Ian already knew; he looked at Mickey like he held the entire fucking world in his eyes. He wanted to know if other people could see just how in love he was with the brunette resting on his chest as he knew he was.

"Like you wanna protect me from the whole fuckin' world; like I'm worth savin'." Mickey whispered into their quiet bedroom.

"Worth everything." Ian swore, pulling Mickey close enough that even air couldn't get between them.

"Don't need savin'." Mickey tried to argue, but he was well aware that Ian had already saved him more than once.

"I know. But if you ever do, don't doubt for a fuckin' second that I'd do it." Ian promised, feeling sleep taking over as Mickey's breath fanned out over his bare chest. "I love you." Ian mumbled, trying-and failing-to keep his eyes open.

"Love you, too." Mickey replied, dropping a kiss onto Ian's chest. They may not have had the easiest road, but he was glad he'd found his way back to Ian; he couldn't imagine living this life with anyone else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave me some comments to let me know what you think of this chapter. Much love!


	20. I Was Praying That You And Me Might End Up Together

When Ian was younger he believed he'd have been promoted in the military at least once by the time he turned twenty-five; the army had been his only dream for the longest time. But once he realized he was in love with Mickey, he had a new dream; he wanted a life-and family-with the angry, abrasive brunette with sparkling blue eyes, a smile that made Ian's pulse race, and a kind, loving heart. "Morning." Ian whispered, looking down at the man curled into his chest.

"Mornin'." Mickey groaned, pressing himself closer to Ian. "Harlow still sleepin'?"

"Hasn't started callin' for her Daddad, yet, so I think so." Ian replied, burying his face in Mickey's hair and inhaling the scent he loved so much. "I want some time with her Daddad, though."

"Too tired; just jack off in the fuckin' shower!" Mickey whined, blocking the light seeping through the curtains by using Ian's body as a human shield.

"Fine. You gotta let me up, though." Ian said, smirking to himself; he knew Mickey wasn't ready to stop cuddling-"fuck you, I don't fuckin' cuddle, Gallagher!"-him.

"No! Jack off here, then. But I wanna sleep." Mickey protested with a pout on those full lips.

"Nah, I'm good; just wanna lay here with you." Ian chuckled as he soaked in Mickey's body heat. "You ever wonder where we'd be if I wasn't a fuckin' moron when you first found out you were pregnant with Max?"

"Sometimes, yeah. Why?" Mickey asked, his voice muffled by Ian's chest.

"Had a dream about it." Ian admits, tightening his hold on Mickey as if he may disappear into thin air.

"Wanna tell me about it?" Mickey asked, moving his head just enough to look at Ian.

 

_"Papa, Daddy! Time to get up!" Max chirped, hopping on the bed as Mickey and Ian tried to hold onto sleep just a little longer. Ian could hear a small giggle from the foot of the bed, telling him their second child was in the room, as well._

_"Ian, get up with your kids." Mickey mumbled, rolling over to avoid the morning sun._

_"Your kids, too." Ian groaned, sitting up and wiping the sleep from his eyes as six-year-old Max and four-year-old Harlow crawled into his lap._

_"My kid is still sleepin'." Mickey said, motioning to the crib at the foot of the bed where 3-month-old Sawyer was still fast asleep. "We made a deal, remember? When Max was born you said you'd do early mornin' shit since I did the hard part of gettin' him here? Well I did it two more times, after that, so get the fuck up with 'em."_

_"I meant when he was a baby!" Ian protested, though he was still tickling and kissing their first and second child as his husband of five years tried to fall back asleep. "Come on, Mick, I'll make you pancakes if you get up with us."_

_"Daddy, get up! I want 'nana pancakes!" Harlow bellowed, crawling over Mickey's body to look at him. "It's mornin', Daddy! Time to wake up."_

_"No, time for little Ladybugs to cuddle their Daddy." Mickey said-much more alert than he was a moment ago-as he pulled Harlow down. "Daddy wants to snuggle his baby girl!"_

_"Daddy!" Harlow and Max both shouted, kissing Mickey's cheeks._

_"Guys, no yellin', Sawyer's still sleepin'." Ian chastised as he walked over to the crib, making sure his youngest son was still asleep. The tiny brunette seemed unfazed by the noise, still stretched out on his back with his tiny hands balled into fists. Ian heard tiny feet hit the hardwood floor and take off running out of the room, but still almost jumped when he felt Mickey wrap his arms around him._

_"Definitely gonna be our short kid." Mickey commented, looking down at the baby-who was still nearly the same size as an infant half his age-with a soft, loving smile. "You got the better end of that fuckin' anniversary present."_

_"Come on, you gotta admit, him bein' born on our anniversary was cute." Ian chuckled, watching Sawyer's tiny feet kick in his sleep. "Looks a lot like you."_

_"That a bad thing?" Mickey asked, his index finger tracing the tiny, delicate knuckles of their son's hand._

_"Fuck no; means he's beautiful." Ian said, kissing Mickey's cheek. "All three of 'em are."_

_"Damn straight; my babies are perfect." Mickey scoffed, gently shoving Ian away. "Regret chasin' me down that day?"_

_"Hell no. I fucked up and realized it right away; I needed to get my baby-well, babies-back before I lost you forever." Ian said without a doubt in his mind. "Got a pretty fuckin' awesome life outta it; got you, our babies, and got the fuck outta the Southside. I think I made the right choice."_

_"Even when the monsters wake us up before eight on a Saturday?" Mickey asked, rubbing Sawyer's stomach when he started to fuss._

_"Even then." Ian said, moving to kiss Mickey's lips softly. "Love you."_

_"Love you, too." Mickey murmured, turning to pick Sawyer up when the boy whimpered. "We love you, too, bumblebee." He assured the little boy who calmed down as soon as he was in Mickey's arms. Ian kissed Sawyer's downy black hair, enjoying the quiet moment with his husband and their youngest child._

_"Daddy! Papa! I want 'nana pancakes, please!" Harlow yelled, pulling them out of their moment of silence._

_"We're comin', Ladybug!" Ian called, turning to walk out of the bedroom, only stopping to watch Mickey cradle their son close to his chest. He was so fucking happy he'd immediately regretted his choice to end his relationship with Mickey seven years ago, because he had an amazing life with this man, now._

 

"Not too different than what we got, now." Mickey said, eyes raking over Ian's face as he attempted to memorize every freckle, scar, and feature that were all uniquely Ian.

"No... Guess even when I'm dreamin' I know I got it good with you." Ian agreed, tracing the small cluster of barely-there freckles on Mickey's eyelid.

"Sawyer? Really? We fuckin' preppy assholes with a dog in a fuckin' sweater, now?" Mickey asked, causing Ian to laugh so hard he accidently poked Mickey in the eye. "Motherfucker!" Mickey laughed, slapping Ian's chest as he sat up, rubbing his sore eye. "Seriously, though, we're not namin' our next kid fuckin' Sawyer."

"Yeah, okay." Ian agreed with another laugh, checking Mickey's eye and kissing his forehead. "It's fine; still as pretty as ever."

"I ain't fuckin' pretty, asswipe." Mickey grumbled. "Go get me my baby; I don't wanna talk to you, anymore." Mickey said, sitting back against the pillows as Harlow started to call out for her "Daddad" through the baby monitor.

"Yes, dear." Ian sighed, standing up and leaving the room with an adoring expression on his face. Mickey was right; his dream really wasn't all that different from the life they had, right now, because that life was pretty great.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really just needed some cute Gallavich fluff in my life, right now. Leave me some comments to let me know what you thought of this chapter. Much love!


	21. Trick Or Treat

"Hold still so I can finish your lightning bolt, Chipmunk." Mickey said, tongue poking out of the corner of his mouth as he meticulously dabbed at the mark on Max's forehead with a makeup blender her got from Mandy, making the fake scar look remarkably convincing.

"Didn't know you could do shit like that." Ian said, watching Mickey work his magic on the mark on their son's face.

"Learned to do makeup when I was about fourteen; Mandy broker her wrist and needed someone to do it for her. Learned how to do special effects makeup after that 'cause I thought it was cool as Hell, even charged some guys Iggy hung out with to do it for 'em on Halloween when I was fifteen and he was eighteen." Mickey said, moving back to inspect his work.

"Cover my spots, Daddy." Max begged, referring to the freckles that littered his face. "Harry don't got spots."

"You gotta hold still." Mickey reminded his son, looking through the makeup bag Mandy had lent him for some concealer. "Hey, Ian?" As Ian turned around Mickey smudged some of the makeup on Ian's neck-causing Max to giggle-and examined it closely. "Should work."

"Why couldn't you use your damn hand?" Ian grumbled, wiping the makeup off his neck.

"Skin tone's a little different on your hand than your face and neck. And I'm paler than you and Max, so if it works on me it won't on him." Mickey said as he worked the liquid into Max's skin. "Mandy taught me that shit, first."

"You're really good at this, Mick." Ian complimented, still trying to remove the smudge on his neck. "Why the Hell is it so hard to get off?"

"Use a washcloth and soap, dumbass." Mickey chuckled. "All done, bud. Go check it out." Mickey said, helping their son climb off their bed and watching him run to the bathroom to look at the black wig on his head and the makeup job Mickey had done.

"Gonna go get Harlow ready." Ian said, walking to the living room to get Harlow out of her playpen and into her little duck costume. "What do we say when we go to the door, Ladybug?" Ian asked the girl as he carried her up to her room.

"Tic-o-tee!" Harlow giggled, kicking her tiny legs as Ian started to change her diaper and clothes.

"And what do we say when we get candy?" Ian asked, smiling down at his giggling, happy little girl.

"Tan too!" Harlow said, eyes widening as Ian got the top half of her costume-a zip-up body suit with wings as arms and a duck head as a hood-off the hanger on a drawer of the dresser attached to her changing table. "Quack quack, Papa!"

That's right, baby girl, you're gonna be a quack quack." Ian chuckled, sitting her up to pull her long sleeve white shirt on, put her arms through the sleeves of her costume, and zip it up. "You're a cute little duck."

"No 'uck, Quack quack!" Harlow argued. Ian had to laugh at how angry she looked-and how much of Mickey he saw in the girl when she was angry-at him saying "duck" instead of "quack quack" when referring to her costume.

"Papa's sorry, Ladybug; you're a cute quack quack." Ian amended, scooping her up. "Wanna go show Daddy?"

"Daddad! Daddad, quack quack!" Harlow shouted as they walked down the stairs to Mickey and Max sitting in the living room.

"I see that, baby! You're a pretty quack quack." Mickey said, stealing the girl from Ian and kissing her cheek. "You wanna go get some candy?" Max was already on his feet, his green and black Frankenstein printed bag in his right hand and Harlow's candy corn printed bag in his left-Ian loved Debbie for making the kids trick or treat bags when she made Franny's-ready to go.

"Anny!" Harlow screeched, reaching for her bag.

"Here, sissy." Max said, handing Harlow her little bag. "Can we go?" Ian and Mickey nodded, walking out the door with their kids.

 

"Trick or treat!" Max exclaimed as he reached the front steps of the first house, clutching Ian's right hand as he held his bag out with his free hand.

"If it isn't my good friend, Harry!" The teenage girl-who must have been about fifteen or sixteen-dressed in a Hermione costume said as she kneeled to put some candy in Max's bag with a kind smile on his face.

"Thank you!" Max chirped, blushing fiercely as the pretty girl smiled at him.

"Tic o tee!" Harlow giggled, having waited until her brother was done to talk.

"Here, baby girl." Mickey laughed, crouching down beside his daughter to help her hold her bag out.

"She is just too precious!" The girl gushed. "For the cutest duck I've ever seen." The girl said, putting some candy in Harlow's bag.

"Me quack quack!" Harlow laughed, bouncing on her tiny feet when she saw candy in her bag. "Tan too!"

"They're so sweet." The girl said, smiling at Mickey and Ian. "Have a nice Halloween Harry and little Quack Quack."

"You're prettier than the real Hermione." Max said-shocking both of his parents-before darting down the walkway to the sidewalk.

"We're raisin' a little flirt." Ian chuckled, taking Harlow's hand as they walked away from the house. "Think you made her night, Bud." Ian said, letting Mickey take Harlow's hand and reclaiming Max's. "But remember what Daddy and I told you?"

"Don't run off. Sorry, Papa." Max said, walking along to the next house with his family. "She was real pretty."

 

"She's out." Mickey commented as they made their way back to their house, Harlow snoring softly on his shoulder.

"He almost is." Ian replied, shifting Max on his hip. "Think they got enough candy to last 'em awhile."

"Max's new little girlfriend put in a handful each, so they fuckin' should." Mickey laughed. "Still can't believe he said that."

"Never seen anyone smile as wide as she did when he said it." Ian said with a chuckle of his own. "Gonna have to ask him for shit to say to get that kind of smile outta you."

"Fuck off." Mickey said with a smirk. "Gonna have a problem when he starts datin'."

"Probably; every girl he talks to fuckin' loves him." Ian couldn't really blame anyone for adoring his son; Max was a sweet, funny, and adorable as fuck little boy. "Hey, Chipmunk, we're home; you gotta change so you can go to sleep, okay?" Max nodded, but made no move to open his eyes or lift his head. Ian guessed that was all the information he needed to know he'd be changing the sleeping boy out of his costume and into his pajamas for the night.

 

"How'd we end up with him?" Mickey asked as he entered the bedroom he shared with his husband after getting Harlow changed and in bed, only to find his son curled up next to Ian.

"Said the last house was scary and wanted to sleep with us." Ian yawned, stretching out his lanky body in the bed next to Max. "Surprised you didn't hear him screamin' from Harlow's room."

"Though he just didn't want you washin' off his lightning bolt." Mickey admitted, changing into a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt before crawling in bed next to Ian and Max. "Never been scared when he's went trick or treatin', before." Ian knew this was true; he'd went with the boy the last three years and he never even batted an eye at scary decorations. "Think it's something else?"

"Wish I knew; just know I hate seein' him cry." Ian replied honestly. "Max is usually such a happy kid."

"Always been like that; I remember when he was about six months old and he'd just lay in his bassinet and babble to himself for an hour. He didn't wanna be held, he was just happy to lay there and talk to himself." Mickey muttered, tracing the outline of a small scar on Max's arm. "He was two when he did this; we were still livin' in the studio apartment I got when I first moved and he tried to climb on my bed when I was makin' him some lunch, fell and scratched the shit outta his arm on the bedframe, but he didn't cry, he just wanted to tell me the bed was bad."

"First time he spent the night with me he rolled off the couch when he was playin' with Hyde and bumped his head. He looked at me and said, "Papa, I hit the table, but the table's okay." And I swear to fuckin' God I thought you'd never let him stay with me, again after that." Ian said, watching Max's chest rise and fall slowly as he slept. "He'll tell us what's wrong, eventually."

"Hope so." Mickey whispered, pulling Max closer to himself. "Get some sleep; tomorrow's your early day." Mickey mumbled, already half asleep.

"Night, baby. Love you." Ian whispered into the dark room.

"Love you, too." Mickey managed to reply, though he was obviously out. Ian kept watching his boys for a few moments before he fell asleep, himself, still worrying about Max.


	22. Holding On And Letting Go

Ian's life had changed for the better the moment Mickey and their son reentered it; he had missed out on so much with Max, but was getting to see so much of the sweet little boy changing and growing since they had met. But now, he was watching his sweet little Max turn into a quiet, sullen child. "Hey, Chipmunk, Daddy's gotta work late, so you wanna help make dinner?" Ian knew his son; Max loved to help in any way he could and felt as if he'd accomplished something when he got to help his fathers with anything.

"Okay." Max said so softly, Ian had nearly missed it. The boy followed Ian to the kitchen where Harlow was sitting on a blanket in the floor with Jake licking her tiny feet.

"Somethin' botherin' you, Max?" Ian asked, setting a metal cookie sheet and a box of garlic toast in front of Max for the boy to lay them out.

"No." Max replied, focusing on his task.

"You know I love you, right?" Ian asked, resulting in a nod from the small redheaded boy. "And you know you can talk to me, don't you?" Again, a nod. "Max, baby boy, me and Daddy are worried about you; you're not actin' like yourself... What's wrong?"

"Breelynn's daddies broke up." Ian remembered talking to Max's friend's father, and he seemed happy with his husband. Though it was sad when a couple broke up after having children, Ian didn't see why that had effected his son so much.

"That's sad, Chipmunk." Ian agreed, hoping it would make his son continue.

"Are you and Daddy gonna break up?" Max asked, seeming unsure.

"Hey," Max looked up as Ian rested his elbows on the countertop. "nothin' is goin' on with me and Daddy, got it? I love Daddy very much and Daddy loves me; we're gonna be together until we're as old as your old teacher, Mister Wright." Max giggled, and Ian couldn't fucking believe how much he had missed that little sound over the past week.

"Do some people still love each other when they break up?" Max asked, trying to understand the complicated dynamics of relationships in his young mind.

"Sometimes, yeah; it just means they need some time apart." Ian said, wondering if he'd explained it well enough to his son.

"Like you and Daddy?" Max asked, throwing his arms out in a grand fashion to demonstrate that he was done with his job.

"Good job, Chipmunk... And yeah, me and Daddy are a lot happier, now." Ian agreed adamantly, knowing this was true.

"I don't want you and Daddy to break up; I like you and Daddy living together." Ian kissed his son's forehead and went about making dinner and listening to Max talking about everything and nothing until the spaghetti and garlic toast were done.

"Go wash your hands, bud." Ian instructed, watching Max dart off towards the bathroom and yelling a quick greeting to Mickey as he entered the house.

"Chipmunk seems okay, tonight." Mickey commented, picking Harlow up off the floor. "Hey, Ladybug!"

"Daddad!" Harlow shouted, kissing her father's cheek sloppily.

"Breelynn's parents split up; he was worried we were going to." Ian filled Mickey in. "I told him we were all good and that nothing was gonna happen to us."

"Better fuckin' not!" Mickey scolded, balancing Harlow on his hip. "Married my ass; you're fuckin' stuck with me!"

"Promise?" Ian said, stepping around the counter until he was barely a breath away from his husband.

"It's a fuckin' threat! You leave me? I destroy your fuckin' life." Ian remembered a time when he would have been intimidated by Mickey saying something like this, but time had softened the older man.

"Yay! I get you forever!" Ian cheered, making Harlow giggle. "We get forever with Daddy, Ladybug!"

"Daddy?" Max called above Ian's baby talk and Harlow's laughter.

"Yeah, Chipmunk?" Mickey asked, passing the toddler to her other father.

"Papa's weird." It was Mickey's turn to laugh, now.

 

"Ten more minutes!" Max begged, staying firmly planted on the living room floor as Mickey tried to get his son up the stairs to bed with no success.

"Not happenin'. Get your little ass up to bed, now." Mickey replied, fixing his son with a stern expression.

"Five more minutes!" Max tried to bargain.

"Max, I swear to God, if you don't listen I'm gonna bust your ass." Mickey replied, waiting for his son-who had never actually been spanked-to move.

"Two more minutes!" Max grasped, trying to stay up just a bit later than his eight o'clock bedtime.

"Maxton Krew Gallagher! I'm gonna count to three and if you ain't up those stairs you're in trouble. One-" Max stood up, knowing he had pushed his father too hard. "two-" Max began to run up to his bedroom with Hyde scampering along behind him. "Kid's faster than I thought." Mickey mused as he marched up the stairs behind his son.

 

"Fuck, baby." Ian moaned, watching Mickey as the older man rode him in their bed. Mickey's fingernails were digging into Ian's chest, creating a toe-curling mixture of pain and pleasure within the younger man with every roll of Mickey's hips.

"Touch me." Mickey demanded in a broken moan when he started bouncing on Ian's cock, again. Ian happily obliged, stroking his husband's throbbing, leaking erection and thrusting up into the tight heat constricting him until the both reached their orgasms with the other's name on their lips. "God damn, I needed that." Mickey sighed dreamily, dropping onto the bed beside Ian.

"Only been a few days, baby." Ian chuckled, pulling his husband into a lazy kiss, his hands caressing Mickey's sides. "I get it, though." Ian felt relaxed after the intense orgasm he'd just had, but he was worried; Logan speaking about his husband had reminded Ian of how he felt towards his Mickey, so what if he had unintentionally lied to his son?

"We ain't them, Ian." Mickey whispered as if he were reading Ian's mind. "You and me? We're forever." Ian smiled down at the man he loved so much, feeling better about everything. Mickey was right, after all; they were forever.


	23. Thankless

Mickey had approached Fiona working in the same restaurant as him with extreme trepidation, at first; he knew the eldest Gallagher sibling wasn't fond of him, after all. But once he realized just how lonely she was, he had begun talking to her during breaks and she had suddenly become a good friend to the brunette man. "So, I was thinkin' about havin' dinner at my place next weekend to introduce the family to Jack." Fiona said awkwardly over lunch on Tuesday.

"Okay?" Mickey wasn't sure why she seemed so uncomfortable; he assumed she didn't want him and Ian there, but if that was so, why bring it up?

"I'm just... Every guy I dated has been an asshole in some way, and-no offense-you're kinda an asshole, so I was hopin'..." Fiona trailed off, picking around at her salad.

"Want me to feel him out?" Mickey guessed, checking his phone when he heard his message tone.

_Ian(12:15PM): [Multimedia attachment] Ladybug passed out on me._

_Mick <3(12:16PM): Her fever down?_

_Ian(12:18PM): For now. She wasn't very happy, though._

_Mick <3(12:19PM): Poor baby. I'll take over with her when I get home._

_Ian(12:20PM): Thanks. Love you._

_Mick <3(12:21PM): Love you, too._

"Ian?" Fiona asked, seeing the small smile on Mickey's face.

"Yeah; he's home with Harlow. She's got the flu." Mickey hated that his daughter was sick, but the picture of the little girl asleep with her head on Ian's leg and her stuffed cat under her arm made his heart clench.

"Poor kid. Anyway... I just want you to sort of act like... Well, yourself; if he starts actin' like a dick, tell him off." Fiona said, hoping her brother-in-law understood what she meant.

"I can do that." Mickey replied with a nod. "Been actin' like a fuckin' respectable member of society for years; be nice to get back to bein' myself."

"Think this is just you, now, Mick." Fiona laughed. "Husband, a nice house, two kids... All grown up, now!"

"Fuck you." Mickey chuckled, eating his own food. "I'm still me."

"Just a more mature version." Fiona said, watching Mickey closely. "Thank you; for givin' Ian another chance. And lovin' him even when he didn't love himself."

"Don't gotta thank me." Mickey was uncomfortable, now; he didn't do well with praise.

"Yeah, I do." Fiona said, looking up at at Mickey with kind brown eyes. "You two still tryin' for another baby?"

"Yeah. Hopin' for another girl." Mickey had always though that-if he ever had children-he would have two little girls; he liked the idea of being able to spoil his daughters.

"Ian would love that; he always wanted to be able to spoil his kids rotten." Fiona said, the image of her younger brother with his son and two daughters in her mind.

 

"We made Turkeys today, Daddy!" Max told Mickey as he dug through his backpack to find the picture he'd made in school. The boy held the picture up for Mickey to see the little hand print decorated to resemble a turkey.

"That looks great, Chipmunk!" Mickey praised, seeing the beautiful, proud smile on his son's chubby face. "Papa's in the kitchen; go show him, okay?" Max ran off, leaving Mickey with the sleeping toddler in her playpen, her sweaty red curls plastered to her pale forehead. "Poor baby girl." Mickey sighed, running his fingers through her drenched hair.

"Hope Max don't get it." Ian said, walking into the living room with Max on his hip. "Poor girl's miserable."

"Sissy's still sick?" Max asked, looking over Mickey's shoulder at his sleeping sister.

"Yeah, she is, Chipmunk." Mickey sighed, standing up to kiss his son's forehead. "Don't you get sick on me, okay? Need my Chipmunk to help me."

"I'm okay, Daddy." Max assured his father. "I gotta eat all the pie on Thanksgiving!" Ian let out a small chuckle at his son's strange priorities. "And we gotta watch the Parade, Papa!"

"I know we do, buddy." Ian chuckled, staring at the little boy he was positive was one of the most beautiful children-ranked up there with only his daughter-in the world. "You gotta help me and Daddy cook, too." Max seemed pleased with this, and Ian had to remind himself that he would have these moments with Harlow and their next child to keep himself from feeling a hint of sadness that their boy was growing up so fast.

 

"Come on, baby! Just one?" Ian begged as they sat on their bed with Harlow asleep between them. Mickey sighed and allowed Ian to kiss him while trying to ignore the flash from his phone's camera. "Thank you."

"Can I please go to sleep, now?" Mickey groaned, laying down next to Harlow as she let out the smallest, most adorable snores either parent had ever heard.

"Yes you can. Love you, baby." Ian said with a smile, leaning over to kiss his husband's cheek and their daughter's nose as the girl slept. Mickey grumbled something unintelligible before dosing off, leaving Ian awake by himself as he posted the photo to his instagram.

**_Ian_Gallagher:_ ** _Love my baby! @Mickey.Gallagher #loveofmylife_

Once he'd posted the photo of himself and Mickey, Ian laid down and fell asleep next to two of his favorite people.


	24. Chaos Of Our Lives

Mickey never celebrated holidays after his mother died; too many memories of her trying her damnedest to give her children something in their fucked up lives. That all changed when Max was born, however, and he wanted to give his son everything he fucking could. "Daddy, are Uncle Lip and Aunt Mandy coming over?" Max asked as he sat at the counter placing rolls on a baking sheet.

"Yeah, bud; everyone's comin'." Mickey replied, watching as Ian tried to peel sweet potatoes with Harlow sitting in his lap. "Want me to take her?" Mickey knew Harlow had been stuck on Ian all through her illness, but he figured the younger man could use a break from the toddler "helping" by throwing the peeled vegetables to Jake and Hyde.

"You wanna go to Daddy, Ladybug?" Ian asked, turning Harlow around to face him.

"Wan' Papa!" She yelled, attempting to cross her tiny arms.

"Papa's still gonna be right here." He attempted to reason, just wanting to get this task over with so he could move on.

"I pay?" This relieved both parents; Harlow hadn't had much energy to play, recently, and they were taking this as a good sign. Ian sat the girl on the ground, watching her closely as she instantly ran to Jake. The large dog was truly the girl's best friend, and Ian was so happy he'd adopted him; not only was Jake a loyal guard dog-who had saved Ian's life the night Ronnie Milkovich had attacked him-but he was wonderful with their children, Harlow in particular. "Hi, Ake!"

"God, she loves that dog." Mickey chuckled as he continued to snap green beans.

"Yeah, he's her buddy." Max chimed in, reaching down to scratch his own dog's head.

"Don't touch Hyde when you're helpin' Daddy cook, Max." Mickey lectured, squirting some hand sanitizer on Max's hands. When the Hell did he become so domestic? He used to beat the shit outta people because he was bored and now he kept hand sanitizer in the fucking kitchen and lectured his son about touching food after he touched the dog! Fuck, he  _had_ a son and a dog!

"Okay, bud, go watch some of the Parade; we'll come get you when we need more help." Mickey instructed his son, laughing at his excitement as the boy ran off towards the living room.

 

 _"Are you sure this is okay, Ian?"_ Fiona nervously asked her brother over the phone before she made her way to the house he shared with his husband and children for Thanksgiving dinner.

"It's fine, Fiona; less suspicious for all of us to be together for a holiday than just a random weekend, so he should act more like himself." Ian said, helping Max pick out his clothes for the day. "You like this one, Chipmunk?"

Max looked at the dark, heather grey t-shirt with the words "Stay Wild" printed on the chest in white with his lips pursed and expressive eyebrows furrowed. "Yes. Can I wear my shirt like you?" Ian chuckled and nodded before retrieving the black, grey, and white plaid flannel over shirt from Max's closet. He called the shirt his "Papa shirt" due to Ian almost always wearing flannel, and Ian found it fucking adorable.

 _"As long as you guys are sure. I'll see you soon. Love you, little brother."_ Fiona said, her voice audible through the whole room where Ian had put his phone on speaker so he could help Max get dressed.

"Love you, too." Ian said before hanging up the phone and finding Max a pair of jeans. "Get dressed, bud; Papa's gonna go get sissy dressed." Ian left the bedroom, walking to Harlow's room to fetch her olive green button-down top with the sleeves buttoned and two little pockets on the chest, her bubblegum pink floral leggings, a pair of white socks, and the brown Doc Martens boots Mandy had insisted Harlow needed. It had felt strange to Ian to dress a child of his-a child of Mickey's-in pretty, girly clothes, at first, but they both loved it.

 

"They look so fuckin' cute!" Fiona gushed as she snapped a quick photo of Max and Harlow. Mickey had to agree with Fiona; both children looked adorable in the clothes Ian had chosen for them. "Thanks for doin' this for me, Mick." Fiona whispered as she hugged her brother-in-law.

"Not a problem; we'll see how he acts around all the kids." Mickey whispered back, watching Max get up to run around with Franny. "Max, we're havin' dinner as soon as Uncle Carl and Uncle Lip get here!"

"Those two are a disaster when we get 'em together." Debbie sighed, hugging Mickey. "Smells great, Mick."

"Thanks, Debs." Mickey noticed the two pies Debbie had sat in the coffee table. "Better hide those before Max attacks."

"I swear, he is so much like Ian, sometimes." Debbie giggled, earning a wide-eyed nod from Fiona.

"Thanks for letting me come to dinner, Mickey; my whole family lives in Vermont and I'm headin' that way for Christmas." Jack Lewis explained, holding out a large, tanned hand for Mickey to shake. Jack was handsome-Mickey supposed-with his thick, coal black hair, shimmering Hazel eyes, Roman features, and a tall, lean body, but Mickey would always find his husband more attractive.

"You must be Jack. I'm Ian Gallagher; Mickey's husband." Ian proclaimed in a very possessive manner. Mickey would never understand why Ian was so possessive of him, but he wasn't complaining; he liked that his husband still wanted him even after he'd given birth twice.

"Nice to meet you, Ian; Mickey and Fiona have told me a lot about you." Jack replied with a relaxed smile. "Your kids are beautiful."

"Thanks." Ian said with a smile, scooping Harlow up. "Say hi, Ladybug!"

"Hi!" Harlow laughed, waving one chubby hand.

"Hi, pretty girl!" Fiona cooed, kissing Harlow's cheek. "You gonna eat some Turkey?"

"Kurkey gobble gobble?" Harlow asked, looking between her fathers.

"Yeah, Ladybug; Turkeys say Gobble Gobble." Mickey said, holding up his left hand so Harlow could high-five him. The girl reached out and slapped Mickey's hand, laughing as she did.

"FiFi! Cow Moo!" Harlow shouted, proud of what she had recently learned.

"Sure do!" Fiona said, ruffling Harlow's red curls as the front door opened.

"Ian! Tell Lip to stop messin' with my hair!" Liam shouted as he walked in behind a heavily pregnant Mandy.

"Shut up, kid." Lip jokingly chastised his youngest brother. "Where are Max and Franny?"

"Playin' in Max's room. I'll go get 'em so we can eat." Ian said, passing his daughter to Mickey before rushing towards the stairs, only stopping to thump Carl on the back of his head as he walked in and darting up the stairs.

 

Dinner was a typical Gallagher affair; loud, messy, and full of laughter. "Harlow, no throwing food." Ian chastised, moving Harlow's plate enough that she could no longer throw mashed potatoes at her older brother.

"I made the rolls!" Max exclaimed happily as he munched on a bite of turkey and buttery rolls.

"You did great, Max! Maybe you should come work with your Aunt Fiona, Daddy, and I." Jack complimented, making Max smile that beautiful little smile Ian and Mickey adored.

"He's gonna help Franny and I make cookies next weekend, aren't you, Max?" Debbie asked, smirking at her nephew.

"Yeah! I'm gonna make snickersdoodles for Daddy!" Max happily explained.

"Snickerdoodles, bud, not snickers." Ian said, passing his son another roll.

"Thank you, Papa." Max said as he resumed eating.

"You gonna make your Uncle Carl some cookies, Franny?" Carl asked, winking at the girl.

"Yeah!" Franny laughed, pushing a bite of turkey into Carl's mouth.

"What do you think?" Fiona whispered to Mickey.

"Fits in pretty well with this crazy ass family." Mickey replied, glancing at Mandy as she rested her head on Lip's shoulder. "Takes a lot to manage that."

"Seems to like the kids." Fiona said, watching as Liam and Jack talked quietly amongst themselves.

"Good with Liam." Mickey noted. Liam had never really been the same after the cocaine incident, and had a hard time speaking to people, so he was earning points in Mickey's book.

"Think I should keep him around for awhile?" Fiona asked, looking between the dreamy look on Ian's face as he gazed at his husband and the soft smile Jack was aiming at her. Could this be her chance to find what Ian had in Mickey?

"Think it's worth seein' how it all goes." Mickey said, turning to feed Harlow a bite of sweet potatoes. The whole family seemed happy, and Fiona felt like she could relax for the first time since she was fourteen.

 

"He's finally asleep." Mickey whispered as he walked towards Harlow's bedroom after spending an hour comforting his nauseous son. "Not sure if he just ate too much or he's gettin' sick."

"Hopefully the former." Ian said as he slowly changed a sleeping Harlow into her pink fleece fox footie pajamas. "Kid had three pieces of pie." Ian laid their sleeping daughter in her crib and turned on the baby monitor as Mickey moved to softly kiss Harlow's cheek.

"Yeah, he went a little overboard." Mickey yawned. "I'm fuckin' beat, man."

"Me too. Better try to get some sleep before Max gets up and wants his Daddy, again." Ian said, leading Mickey down stairs to their bedroom for the night, both exhausted after a long day with their chaotic family and their hyperactive children. Both men were happy as they fell asleep, but they knew their son would need Mickey again, soon.


	25. Oh Come Colder Weather

The first snow of the season happened just two days after Thanksgiving, meaning Max was home to enjoy it. "Daddy! Papa! It's snowing!" Max yelled, jumping on the bed Mickey and Ian were still fast asleep in, followed closely by Hyde-who jumped onto Ian's chest-and Jake, who flopped himself down onto Mickey's chest. "Get up! We gotta go play in the snow!"

"Chipmunk, me and Daddy are still sleepin'." Ian murmured, trying to move closer to Mickey as the brunette man tried to worm his way out from under the German Shepard.

"But it's snowing, Papa." Max whispered sadly, laying down between Ian and Mickey, pouting up at Ian with his bright blue eyes widened. Damn it, Ian couldn't say "no" to those beautiful blue eyes.

"We'll go play in a little bit, bud; let's let Daddy get some more sleep." Ian told his son, knowing he would have said "yes" even if Max hadn't pulled out the big guns-those Mickey clone eyes-so he may as well let his husband rest just a bit longer.

"Thank you." Mickey muttered into his pillow as he blindly patted Ian's bare stomach in a loving manner.

"Wanna make some waffles with Papa?" Ian asked his son as Hyde finally jumped off his chest to cuddle with Mickey and Jake.

"Yes please! And scrambled eggs!" Max pleaded, looking up at Ian with a wide smile.

"Sure thing, baby boy." Ian agreed, picking Max up, easily. He knew someday Max would no longer enjoy his fathers carrying him around-and would eventually be too large for him to carry so effortlessly-but for now, Max was fine with still being their baby boy. "Okay, Max, do we want chocolate chip or blueberry waffles, today?"

"Uhmm... Blueberry." Max decided, making himself comfortable on his favorite barstool to help prepare breakfast. The pair quietly prepared breakfast and when it was done Ian went upstairs to fetch Harlow while Max ran to Ian and Mickey's bedroom to wake Mickey. Ian fucking loved mornings like this with his family.

 

"No, Papa!" Harlow giggled, throwing bits of snow around as Mickey chased Max around the backyard. Ian was kneeling in snow, chuckling as Harlow tossed chunks of snow at his chest. "Ake!" Harlow called out to the very excited German Shepard, who was rolling around with Hyde. "Ake! It no!"

"Daddy, my tooth is movin'." Max said, stopping in his tracks to wiggle his top front left tooth.

"Chipmunk, that's awesome!" Mickey exclaimed, lifting his son off the ground. "You're growin' up!"

"Ladybug, bubby's gonna get a visit from the tooth fairy!" Ian exclaimed to their daughter.

"Aidy?" Harlow asked with a bright smile on her chubby face.

"That's right." Ian said picking Harlow up and carrying her over to where Mickey was holding Max. "Family picture! Everyone smile!" Ian ordered, taking his phone out of his pocket and snapping a picture of his family, all wrapped up in coats, scarves, hats, and gloves-Mickey in all black, Ian in a black coat, a red scarf and gloves, and a black hat, Harlow in a little pink and purple polka-dotted coat, a purple hat and gloves, and a glittery pink scarf, and Max in a green coat, and his hat, gloves, and scarf all blue-with rosy cheeks and smiles on their faces.

_**Ian_Gallagher:** First snow family day with @Mickey.Gallagher and our two beautiful babies! :-) #loveourfamily #mykidsarebeautiful #lookatmyhandsomeman_

"Nerd." Mickey scoffed, hugging a shivering Max closer to his chest.

"You love me." Ian responded, leaning over to kiss Mickey softly. "Let's go make these two some hot cocoa."

"Toco!" Harlow exclaimed happily, patting Ian's shoulder with an ecstatic laugh.

"Think Ladybug likes that idea." Mickey laughed, following Ian into the house, each carrying one of their children.

 

"Look how sweet this is!" Debbie exclaimed, thrusting her phone into Fiona's face to show her the picture Ian had posted to Instagram of himself and his family in the snow.

"Harlow is gettin' so big." Fiona said, but she sounded... Sad.

"What's up?" Debbie asked, turning to check on Franny as she played in the floor.

"You've got Franny, Ian's got Max and Harlow-Hell, they're tryin' to have a third kid-Lip and Mandy are gonna have Arya any day now, and... I don't know. Feels like I'm missin' out." Fiona admitted, looking at her niece as the girl played with two Barbie dolls. "I raised you guys, but... I don't know, is it weird that I want one of my own?"

"Not at all; couldn't imagine not havin' Franny, and I'm sure Mick, Ian, Lip, and Mandy would say the same about their kids." Debbie told her sister. "You thinkin' of havin' one with Jack?"

"Yeah, I am; gotta talk to him, first, but I think I'm ready to be a mom." Fiona said with a smile. Debbie was proud of her sister, but worried Fiona's lazy, unmotivated boyfriend wasn't ready to be a father.

 

"You're not gonna kill him." Ian laughed, pulling Mickey to him and sway them softly. Mickey had said if Jack hurt Fiona he'd call Iggy and his cousins and they'd take care of it. "Don't talk, I wanna dance with my husband." Ian said before singing in an off key voice Mickey secretly loved. "Run away, run away if you can't speak, Turn a page on a world that you don't need, Wide awake and you're scared that you won't come down now. Didn't I tell you you were gonna break down? Didn't I warn you, didn't I warn you?"

"Wow, great love song." Mickey scoffed, though he snuggled into Ian's chest.

"Shut up." Ian chastised before resuming his song. "Didn't I warn you, didn't I warn you? Better take it easy, try to find a way out, Better start believing in yourself. We build it up, we tear it down, We leave our pieces on the ground, We see no end, we don't know how, We are lost and we're falling. Hold onto me, You're all I have, all I have, Hold onto me, You're all I have, all I have."

"Better." Mickey sighed, swaying along with Ian with his eyes closed, feeling very content in his life with the beautiful man he'd fallen in love with at seventeen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love "pieces" by Rob Thomas, and think the line "Hold onto me, you're all I have" is perfect for Ian and Mickey. Leave me some comments to let me know what you thought of this chapter. Much love!


	26. Listen Closely, To What I Say

Mickey and Ian took full advantage of the rare occasion that one of their siblings watched their kids; between work and taking care of two children under the age of ten, sex was normally on the back burner for the men who had once had a hard time keeping their hands off each other. Today, Fiona had Max and Harlow, so Mickey found himself straddling Ian's waist, riding his husband slowly while Ian gripped his hip hard. "Fuck, Mick..." Ian whined, thrusting upwards into Mickey's body lazily.

"Fuck, you're so fuckin' big." Mickey whimpered, digging his nails into Ian's pectorals hard enough to draw thin lines of blood. "God damn, Ian." Ian moans at the broken, raspy sound of Mickey's voice as he fucks himself on Ian's cock.

"Touch yourself, baby." Ian ordered, watching as Mickey obeyed, stroking his cock as Ian thrusted into him, sending them both over the edge. "God you're fuckin' perfect." Ian sighed dreamily, running his fingers through Mickey's sweaty hair as the older man dropped onto his chest.

"Shut the fuck up." Mickey chuckled, kissing Ian's chest. "I love our kids, but shit do I miss gettin' laid on the regular."

"It'll be easier once they get a little older." Ian assured his husband softly. "Won't need us to do everything for 'em."

"Want that and don't; sorta want my babies to stay little forever." Mickey admitted, tracing freckles on Ian's chest with a touch so light Ian barely felt it. "Not sure what I'm gonna do with myself when I'm not takin' care of a kid, anymore."

"I could just keep you fat and pregnant until we can't get it up." Ian joked, earning a smack to his chest from a chuckling Mickey. "What? Too much?"

"Not fuckin' doin' that shit, man; one more, and we're done." Mickey laughed, lifting his head to kiss Ian's lips in a sweet, loving manner. "Still got... What? Twelve years of Max still livin' with us and needin' us constantly and sixteen and a half with Harlow? I think after the third baby we'll figure out somethin' to do with ourselves."

"God, Harlow's almost fuckin' two! How the hell is she only six months away from bein' two?" Ian sighed, scrubbing his hands over his sweaty face. "Max is gonna be seven next month."

"That's what happens when you have kids; they fuckin' grow up on you." Mickey joked, though he sounded sad. "He's a good kid, though, man; so fuckin' smart and he's sweet, too... Don't know what we did right."

"You did such a good job, baby." Ian praised softly. "He's perfect, and you did that shit."

"You ever think some people are just... Born good? Like, nothin' can change it?" Mickey asked quietly. "Think that's Max; think he was born to do somethin' good in this fucked up, ugly world."

"He is, but you? You helped keep the bad shit in the world from gettin' to him; you made sure our boy knew he was loved and kept him safe. You did a good job, baby." Ian pressed a kiss to the top of Mickey's head. "I love you, baby."

"Love you, too. Let me sleep." Ian chuckled softly, but allowed Mickey to fall asleep on his chest.

 

"Yeah, we'll be there in a little bit, Debs." Ian said, sliding on a pair jeans and hanging up his phone. "Mick, we gotta go." Ian whispered to his husband as he laid on their bed, still half asleep.

"Don' wanna move." Mickey slurred, pulling his pillow over his head.

"We have to, baby... Mandy's in labor." Ian told Mickey, waiting for him to move.

"You were there when I had Harlow; shit takes hours." Mickey whined, curling in on himself.

"I know, but she's your sister and she wants you there." Ian wasn't lying; Debbie had told him that Mandy was fucking freaking out, screaming that she needed Debbie and Mickey. "She's scared, baby; this is her first kid."

"Fine. Gonna fuckin' shower. Make me coffee?" Mickey asked, sitting up with an adorable pout on his face.

"Sure, baby." Ian chuckled, leaning over to peck Mickey on the lips before exiting their bedroom to make his grumpy, blue-eyed love some coffee.

 

Arya Caylin Gallagher was a carbon copy of her mother; all light skin, dark hair, and light eyes. She was a beautiful, six pound three ounce, twenty inch baby girl, and Mickey was fairly certain the only children more perfect were his own son and daughter. "You did real good, Mands." Mickey told his sister, looking down at his niece as she rested in the exhausted woman's arms.

"She's bigger than yours were." Mandy commented, smiling down at her infant daughter.

"Most babies are, honey." Lip said, leaning over enough to kiss Arya's forehead. "Harlow was only, what, five pounds?"

"A little over." Ian said, holding Max up so he could see his new cousin. "She's pretty, isn't she, bud?"

"Yeah." Max agreed, reaching out to touch Arya's fingers. "She looks like Aunt Mandy."

"Think that makes her even prettier, don't you, Pipsqueak?" Lip asked, tossing a wink in his nephew's direction.

"Yeah." Max giggled, looking to Mickey. "Daddy, are you and Papa gonna have another baby?"

"Maybe someday, Chipmunk." Mickey said, looking at Ian with a hopeful expression; hopeful that he hadn't lied to their son and that they would eventually have another child.

 

"Harlow's asleep." Mickey whispered as Ian entered their bedroom, finding the small girl asleep on Mickey's chest with her fists clutching Mickey's t-shirt. "Didn't want me to put her down."

"Glad I changed the sheets, then." Ian stated as he changed his clothes. "It's only been six months; we'll get there."

"I know... Just... I'm gettin' older, you know? Gonna be harder the longer it takes." Mickey muttered softly, burying his face in Harlow's soft red curls. "Could just be happy with the two we got; they're pretty fuckin' great."

"Yeah. Yeah they are." Ian agreed, laying down next Mickey and Harlow. "So, what, if it happens it happens? No tryin' to force it?"

"Yeah." Mickey agreed with a nod. "If it don't, we'll be happy with the two fuckin' beautiful kids we got, now." Mickey let out a bone deep yawn, wrapping both arms tightly around Harlow. "Kiss me goodnight."

"Don't tell me what to do, mother fucker." Ian laughed quietly, leaning over to kiss Mickey. "Love you."

"Love you, too." Mickey replied as he fell asleep with their daughter on his chest. As much as Ian wanted another child with this man, Mickey was right; the two they already had were fucking perfect.

 


	27. All That You Need, Is In Your Soul

Ian and Mickey could both safely say that they didn't have the best parents, themselves; Mickey's father was the abusive asshole who had nearly beaten his son to death when he discovered he was gay, assaulted his daughter, and had planned to kill Mickey and Ian, as well as their son. His mother had started using drugs when Mickey was very young, resulting in her children being in and out of Foster care, and-finally-in her death to an overdose when Mickey was only eight. Ian didn't have it much better, with his biological father doing absolutely nothing to get to know the son he had helped create, his step father stealing from him and his siblings, beating him several times, and being incredibly unreliable at the best of times. His mother-on the other hand-was a whole other story; she had been an addict, refused to stay on the medication she needed to stabilize her moods, abandoned her children, took their "squirrel fund" money to buy drugs, convinced Ian no one else understood him, got him to run off with her, and had ultimately been a catalyst in Ian deciding to end his relationship with Mickey.

Despite all of this, Mickey and Ian were very good parents to their two young children; their children were healthy, happy, always clean, and had never been forced to go without food or other necessities due to Mickey and Ian caring more about themselves than their children. "Papa?" Max asked as he sat on the couch one Saturday afternoon, curled up between Ian and Mickey-who was holding an extremely tired Harlow in his lap, unable to put her down due to her wanting to cuddle her father-with blankets wrapped around them.

"Yeah, Chipmunk?" Ian asked, looking away from whatever Disney movie Max had chosen for the family to watch to look at his son-completely cocooned in his favorite Batman blanket with his head resting on Mickey's arm and his legs over Ian's lap-and attempting not to laugh; his son was barely visible past the blue fabric of his blanket and with Hyde laying on his stomach.

"Do you have two daddies or do you have a Daddy and a Mommy?" Max asked, his bright blue eyes locked on Ian's shimmering green ones over Hyde's head. Ian wasn't sure what to say; he'd never thought about how he would explain Monica to his children, or-if he were being honest-planned to.

"Papa had a Mommy." Ian admitted, hoping that was enough to appease Max's curiosity.

"Where is your Mommy?" Max asked, reaching his hand out of his cocoon to pet Hyde.

"My Mommy went to Heaven, Chipmunk." Ian said sadly. Max clumsily turned around to lay his head on Ian's arm, taking his arm out of the mass of fabric to hug Ian.

"I'm sorry, Papa. I love you." Max's words in that tiny, innocent voice had Ian's heart swelling; he didn't remember ever telling Monica or Frank that he loved them, yet here was his son, comforting him with those very words.

"Papa loves you, too, my little Chipmunk." Ian said, kissing his son's messy red hair. This boy was so fucking beautiful-so perfect in every way-and he was so damn proud to be his father.

 

"Did you ever tell him about your parents?" Ian asked Mickey quietly as both children slept on their parents laps; Max was still curled up as close to Ian as he could get-his head resting on the older redhead's chest and his legs thrown over his Ian's lap-and Harlow was curled into Mickey's chest with her tiny fist clutching his t-shirt.

"Told him my Dad was a bad guy and he hurt people. Told him my Mom tried and loved us but she was sick and went to Heaven when I was little." Mickey recounted, kissing his daughter's bed mussed auburn curls. "She was a good mom-did everything she could to keep Terry away from us-but she just... I don' know... She had these days where she was fuckin' exhausted, wouldn't eat, and it was like she didn't fuckin' realize we were there."

"Sounds like depression." Ian said quietly, wondering why Mickey had never told him this, before.

"Yeah. Didn't know what it was as a kid; sorta blocked it out as a teenager, so I didn't remember it when you went through your first depression. Anyway, she started usin' cocaine and heroine and that just made her forget us more... I found her when she O.Ded; I was eight and I was home sick from school. I went to her room to ask her if she could make me something for lunch, and she was just... There." Mickey sniffed and wiped his eyes roughly with the heel of his hand. Ian had no idea what to say; he'd seen his mother when she had attempted to kill herself on Thanksgiving, but what Mickey had gone through? Ian had no fucking idea how an eight-year-old child would deal with seeing their mother dead in her bed.

"I'm so sorry, baby." Ian rasped, reaching over with the hand that wasn't holding onto Max to clasp Mickey's free hand.

"She woulda loved 'em, man; anytime she saw you at our baseball games she talked about how fuckin' cute redheaded kids were... Woulda loved havin' two redheaded grandkids." Mickey chuckled sadly. "After she died... That was when I pissed on first base." Mickey was actually laughing, now, his head thrown back as he remembered being a child and pissing on the baseball diamond.

"What was her full name?" Ian asked quietly once Mickey stopped laughing-which surprisingly only made Harlow huff in her sleep, but not wake up-without looking away from the beautiful brunette man.

"Tatia Katerina Tyshchenko." Mickey said, looking down at his daughter as she made an adorable snuffling sound in her sleep.

"That's beautiful." Ian replied softly. Her name really was beautiful, and-from what he could remember from the few times he'd seen the woman as a child-so was the woman, herself; she had strongly resembled Mickey and Mandy-who, if Ian were being honest, could almost pass for twins-with strikingly beautiful pale skin, vibrant blue eyes, long, silky black hair, and full lips. Her face had matched Mandy's almost completely except for her smile; that was all Mickey. "If we have another girl, we should name her Katerina; we can call her "Katie" for short."

"Katerina Deirdre Gallagher." Mickey whispered so quietly Ian nearly missed it.

"Deirdre?" Ian asked. He liked the name, but wasn't sure where Mickey had come up with it.

"Ma used to read old folktales to me when she was puttin' me to bed; Deirdre was the most beautiful woman in ancient Ireland. Can't remember the story, but I remember the name... Starts with a D, so it's sorta like namin' her after Debs-she was always one of my favorites outta your fuckin' family other than you-and since "Gallagher" is an Irish name, I figured it fits." Mickey explained without looking away from Harlow.

"Debbie would love that, Mick." Ian said around a lump in his throat; his husband wanted to name their child after his younger sister! He loved Debbie enough that he wanted their child to carry a piece of her with them for their entire life. "What should we name them if we have another boy?"

"Cian." Mickey replied without needing to think about it. "Starts with a C for Carl, and he'd be named after his Dad without bein' a fuckin' Junior or "the second"; always thought that shit was stupid."

"So Carl and Debs are your favorites?" Ian asked, completely amused. 

"Debs, Carl, and Liam; I like Fiona now, but I still remember how much she fuckin' hated me when we were younger. And Lip is an asshole." Mickey and Ian both laughed at that, because Lip truly could be an asshole when he wanted to.

"Guess we need an L name for Liam, right?" Ian asked, enjoying the fact that Mickey was being so open about how he felt and his past. "Lawson?"

"Where'd you get that?" Mickey asked, finally looked up at Ian. God, did Ian love this fucking man.

"Found it online." Ian replied with a shrug. "You like it?"

"Cian Lawson Gallagher... Sounds good." Mickey leaned forward, placing a kiss on Ian's soft pink lips. Mickey could kiss Ian all day and never once get tired of the feeling of those lips against his own. "Katie or Key is gonna be here, soon, baby."

"We just named our baby." Ian said dreamily, dropping his hand to rest next to Harlow's bent knees on Mickey's flat abdomen. "We're gonna have another baby."

"When're we gonna tell everyone?" Mickey asked, thinking back to when he had run out of their en suite bathroom that morning and thrust a positive pregnancy test into Ian's hands.

"Not just yet... Let's just enjoy it ourselves for awhile." Ian answered. "Can't believe it fuckin' happened... We stopped tryin'... What, three weeks ago? And then you fuckin' get pregnant." Ian remembered the day in late November when they had decided to stop trying to get pregnant-not yet knowing they had already created their third child-only to discover they were expecting another child this morning, on December twenty-second. "Kinda want another girl."

"Always wanted two boys; thought it'd be cool for Max to have a little brother." Mickey admitted. "Wouldn't matter, though; like bein' a Dad no matter what." Ian's throat and chest contracted at that; he fucking loved how much Mickey cared about their children, and how willing he was to give Ian two more children after the horrible way Ian had treated him before their son was born. "Hey, all that shit-all that shit you're thinkin' about, right now-is in the past; we're past all of it. We got two fuckin' awesome kids, and-in a few months-we're gonna have three awesome kids. We're good, Ian." Mickey placed another, softer kiss on Ian's lips. "I love you."

"I love you, too. And I love them." Ian replied, kissing both of his children. They had a good life, and he would always be thankful for Mickey giving him a second chance with their family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave me some comments to let me know what you think! Also, "Amityville: The Awakening" is free on Google Play and you guys should all check it out, because Cameron Monaghan did a fucking awesome job in it! Much love!


	28. We Are Just Passing Shadows, In The Mighty Wind

"Daddad! Up, Daddad!" Harlow giggled as she clumsily ran up to Mickey when he walked in the door from work. Mickey complied with a yawn, picking Harlow up and propping her on his hip. He was still early in his pregnancy, but he was staying fairly exhausted this time around; much more than with his first two pregnancies. Despite his fatigue, he still spent as much time as possible with his babies, not wanting to miss a moment of their lives.

"How's Daddy's Ladybug?" Mickey asked, hugging his daughter closely to his chest.

"Miss Daddad." Harlow said, pouting up at Mickey, making the little girl resemble his husband more than ever. "Daddad 'iss?" Mickey chuckled and kissed her adorably chubby cheek.

"Hey, baby!" Ian greeted as he walked out of the kitchen with Harlow's favorite sippy cup in his hand. "Here you go, Ladybug." He said, handing the cup to the tiny redhead in Mickey's arms who started happily drinking her juice.

"Where's Chipmunk?" Mickey asked, accepting the soft peck Ian leaned in to place on his lips.

"Said his head hurt when I picked him up from school so I set him up in our room." The parents had recently taken Max to a Neurologist when he bagan having terrible headaches frequently, resulting in the seven-year-old being diagnosed with chronic migraines. Mickey and Ian had looked up every possible way to help their son with the debilitating pain; cool compresses to his head and the back of his neck, having him lay down in dark, silent rooms, giving him caffeinated soda-something they had never let the boy have before his diagnosis-and making sure their was a bucket nearby due to him occasionally becoming nauseated from his migraines.

"Gonna check on him." Mickey said, passing Harlow to Ian and making his way to the bedroom he shared with his husband to check on their first baby. Max was curled up on Ian's side of the bed-which was honestly just the side Ian climbed in on, considering the slept curled up together in the middle of the bed-with a wash cloth pressed to the back of his neck and his eyes closed. "Hey, Chipmunk." Mickey whispered, sitting on the bed next to the small child. Mickey fucking hated seeing his baby boy suffering like this, and wished their was more he could do to help Max.

"Hi, Daddy." Max said quietly without opening his eyes.

"How're you feelin', baby boy?" Mickey asked, running his fingers through Max's sweaty hair; the boy always seemed to sweat terribly when he had a migraine.

"Sleepy." Max muttered. Mickey was actually relieved to hear this; one of the medications Max was prescribed was supposed to be "instant relief"-meant to be administered during a migraine-and tended to knock the boy out cold.

"Go to sleep, Max; Daddy'll check on you in a little bit." Mickey whispered, leaning over to kiss the boy's forehead. "I love you, baby boy."

"Love you, too, Daddy." Max said softly, curling up further into the blankets to go to sleep.

 

"Poor kid can't catch a fuckin' break with this shit." Mickey sighed as he and Ian sat in their bed later that night with Max curled up between them. "Hate seein' him hurt."

"I know, baby." Ian whispered, tracing Max's cheekbone with his thumb. "Just wanna protect him from the world, and the poor kid gets stuck with somethin' like this; somethin' that makes him fuckin' miserable."

"At least we got those pills, man; he gets to sleep it off." Mickey said as he laid down next to Max. "Glad he got up long enough to eat, this time."

"Just glad he didn't throw up this time; always makes it worse." Ian said, laying down on the other side of their son. "Wonder if the baby's gonna have migraines, too."

"Not sure... Know my mom had 'em when I was a kid." Mickey replied, tracing Max's straight nose with the tip of his finger. "God, he's beautiful."

"Looks like his Daddy." Ian said with a soft smile. "Hope the next one looks like you; you're the pretty one outta the two of us."

"My babies are beautiful no matter what." Mickey said without a hint of malice in his voice. He loved that his children resembled Ian so much, even if a majority of Max's facial features were closer to his own. "Hope we get a green-eyed baby next."

"I love their big blue eyes. I always thought your eyes were beautiful, so havin' two gorgeous babies with those eyes? It's fuckin' perfect." Ian said with a dreamy smile on his face. He adored his husband's eyes-they were easily one of the features he found the most attractive about Mickey-and was ecstatic that both Max and Harlow had those icy blue eyes. "I didn't think it was possible to love someone more than I love you, but Max and Harlow? I'd fuckin' die for them without thinkin' twice."

"I get it. They're our fuckin' kids, man; they're the two-well, three-people who mean the most in this fuckin' world." Mickey said in a much more thoughtful manner than Ian was accustomed to from the handsome brunette.

"Can you believe where we are, now? I mean, we're married, own a house with a nice yard, have two dogs, and two kids with a third on the way. It's fuckin' insane that this is our lives." Ian rambled as Max started to snore just a bit louder.

"Wouldn't change it for the world." Mickey replied, looking over Max to meet Ian's eyes. "I love you, Ian Gallagher."

"I love you, too, Mikhailo Gallagher." Ian said with a smirk as he moved to kiss Mickey. "How're you feelin'?"

"Tired... Don't remember bein' this tired with Max or Harlow, but I'm gettin' older so I'm not worried." Mickey answered honestly, not wanting to hide his fatigue from his husband on the off chance something was wrong, though he was sure he was fine; he didn't feel sick or weak, just tired.

"Make sure you tell your doctor about it tomorrow." Ian ordered gently, clearly out of concern for his husband and their unborn child.

"I will. Go to sleep, babe." Mickey said, laying back down and cuddling close to Max as Ian did the same. Mickey hadn't been lying to Ian; he wouldn't trade their lives together for anything in the world.

 

"How have you been feeling, Mickey? Any morning sickness?" Doctor Smith asked Mickey when he entered the examination room Mickey was in. Mickey liked the older man-having gone to him through out the entirety of his pregnancy with Harlow-but he was still nervous to mention his extreme fatigue; what if something actually  _was_ wrong?

"I've been really fuckin' tired." Mickey finally admitted, looking down at his stomach as the older man's pale hand gently pressed against it.

"Well, the blood samples we took last week showed nothing was wrong aside from a very slight B-12 deficiency, which could cause the fatigue, so I would suggest taking a B-12 supplement everyday. Everything else seems fine." Doctor Smith reassured Mickey. "Although, you've already begun thickening, so I would assume you're farther into your pregnancy than you originally believed."

"How far along do you think I am?" Mickey asked, wondering how he hadn't been experiencing any symptoms, yet; he had just decided to take the test on a whim, simply because he and Ian had been having unprotected sex pretty frequently.

"We'll do an ultrasound to find out. We can do an external." Doctor Smith said, moving to set up the ultra sound machine and applying gel to Mickey's stomach after the man lifted his shirt. Mickey turned to the screen, watching as the image started to clear up and a "wooshing" sound filled the room. "Well, judging by the size, I'd say you're about ten weeks along. Strong heartbeat, healthy size... Everything seems just fine." Doctor Smith said, smiling at Mickey as the man stared at his unborn child. Mickey was so fucking relieved his child was alright, and couldn't wait to for Ian and himself to tell their children they would soon have a younger sibling.

 

"Daddy, Papa, can we please open our presents?" Max asked, holding a box in his lap as he sat on the couch between Ian and Mickey-who was holding Harlow in his lap-waiting to open the present his parents had purchased them.

"Yeah, bud." Ian said, watching on in amusement as Max opened the box and pulled a white t-shirt with the words "Big brother" in black with an arrow between the words out of the box. Max seemed to like the shirt, but also seemed a little confused; everyone already knew he was a big brother, after all.

"Okay, Ladybug, your turn." Mickey said, helping their daughter open her own box and lifting a pink t-shirt with a yellow cupcake on the stomach and the words "Big Sister" adorning the cupcake in what looked like purple frosting out of the box, which seemed to make something click for Max.

"Daddy's gonna have a baby?!" Max asked, looking between both of his parents with a wide smile-Ian's smile-adorning his face. "Sissy, we're gonna get a brother or sister!"

"Baby?" Harlow asked, turning around to look at Mickey.

"Yep, baby." Mickey said, moving Harlow's hand to his stomach.

"Me baby?" Harlow asked, looking over at Ian.

"Yeah, Ladybug; you're a baby." Ian said with a slight chuckle as Max jumped up and changed into his new shirt. Harlow allowed Mickey to change her shirt and stayed quiet as Max hopped onto the couch beside her and Mickey stood up. "Smile, Ladybug." Ian instructed, which resulted in Harlow showing over her wide, dimpled smile as Max did the same. Ian snapped a quick picture-knowing Harlow would be up running in a second-to post on facebook.

_**"Ian Gallagher:** Time to make the announcement; Max and Harlow are gonna have a baby brother or sister, soon! I love these two little angels and can't wait for our third baby to get here! :-)-with  **Mikhailo "Mickey" Gallagher."**_

Ian looked up from his phone and saw Mickey smiling at him. He couldn't believe how perfect their lives were.


	29. Tell Me, Everyday, I Get To Wake Up To That Smile, I Wouldn't Mind It At All

**_Philip Gallagher:_ ** _I'm gonna be an Uncle again!_

 **_Mandy Milkovich:_ ** _Oh my fuckin' God! You two are gonna lose your damn minds!_

 **_Deborah Gallagher:_ ** _Congratulations, Mick and Ian, this baby is so lucky to have you two as their parents._

_**Fiona Gallagher:** Congratulations!_

**_Carl Gallagher:_ ** _Hell yeah, new Gallagher baby!_

 **_Liam Gallagher:_ ** _I'm happy for you guys; I can't wait to meet my new niece or nephew._

 **_Iggy Milkovich:_ ** _You and Mandy need to slow the fuck down; I ain't got a kid, yet! Congrats, guys._

 **_Kevin Ball:_ ** _Congrats!_

 **_Veronica Fisher-Ball:_ ** _This is too fuckin cute! Max is such a good brother to Harlow, he'll love the hell outta this baby!_

 **_Sue Ryan:_ ** _Congratulations, you two!_

 **_Jack Lewis:_ ** _Congrats, Mickey and Ian, and congrats Max and Harlow on being a big brother and sister!_

"Looks like everyone's seen the baby announcement." Ian chuckled as he went through the comments on his facebook post. He went to his camera and started to record a short video. "Hey, Chipmunk, are you excited you're gonna be a big brother, again?"

"Yes! I want another little sister!" Max said with a huge smile on his angelic face.

"Not a brother?" Ian asked, amused by how Max held onto Mickey as if he were protecting his father and unborn sibling from the world.

"I know how to be a good big brother to a little sister." Max explained, making Mickey and Ian's hearts swell; Max already loved his youngest sibling enough that he wanted to be sure he could be a good brother to them.

"You'll be a great brother if the baby is a boy or a girl, Chipmunk." Mickey said, kissing Max's hair.

"Me baby!" Harlow exclaimed, standing up on the couch to take Mickey's face in her hands with a heartbroken expression on her face. Ian stopped recording, sat his phone down, and reached over to take Harlow into his arms.

"You are our baby, Ladybug. So is Bubby, and so is the baby. Daddy and Papa love all of their babies." Ian said, hoping his daughter would understand.

"Me Papa baby?" Harlow asked quietly.

"Yes you are." Ian replied, rubbing her back as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Bubby Papa baby?" Harlow asked again, seemingly trying to understand what Ian had said.

"He sure is." Ian said, smiling at his son, who was still curled around Mickey.

"Baby Papa baby?" Harlow asked, pointing in the general direction of Mickey's stomach.

"The baby is Papa's baby, too." Ian agreed.

"Daddad, me you baby?" Harlow asked Mickey, next.

"Yes you are, Ladybug." Mickey agreed instantly.

"Me yay-dee-bud. Baby no yay-dee-bug." Harlow said, causing her parents and brother to bite back laughter at her adorable compromise.

"You're Daddy and Papa's only Ladybug." Mickey said in agreement, standing up with Max in his arms. "Daddy and Papa love their Ladybug, and they love their Chipmunk."

"What's the baby?" Max asked, looking between his fathers. "I'm Chipmunk and Sissy is Ladybug, so what is the baby?"

"We don't know yet, Chipmunk." Ian admitted, wondering, himself, what nickname they would choose to give their child.

"Can I pick?" Max asked in pure excitement. Mickey and Ian knew they couldn't say "no" when their little Chipmunk looked so excited to tell them his idea, so both fathers nodded. "Uhm... The baby is... Mouse!" Max exclaimed with a soft giggle.

"Why Mouse?" Ian asked as the boy continued to giggle.

"Daddy's Mickey; Mickey Mouse!" Max laughed, making Mickey laugh softly and tickle his son's ribs.

"I guess we got a Chipmunk, a Ladybug, and a Mouse now, babe." Ian said, watching his husband plant kisses all over their son's face; how the hell was he lucky enough to have these people in his life? He held Harlow closer to his chest and buried his face in her downey hair, inhaling the sweet scent of her baby shampoo and just enjoying his time with his growing family.

 

Mickey stretched his stiff body as he slowly opened his eyes the next morning, being met by the sight of Ian laying awake beside him, his beautiful green eyes bright and a soft smile on his face. Mickey loved waking up to that lovely smile; that smile that made Ian's whole face brighten and-somehow-look even more attractive. "Mornin'." Mickey whispered to his husband, not wanting to break the spell of this moment, just yet.

"Morning, my love." Ian replied in his own whisper, his fingertips dancing along Mickey's side. "How's Mouse doin' this morning?"

"Not makin' me sick or shit, yet." Mickey answered, just enjoying his moment with the love of his life. "Doctor said those supplements should kick in after a few days; said a B-12 deficiency zaps your energy pretty bad, and that's why I was so fuckin' tired."

"Glad that's all it was." Ian said. He was terrified that Mickey or the baby was sick, so discovering it was a simple vitamin deficiency was an incredible relief to the redheaded man. "I was... God, Mick, I was fuckin' scared shitless that I was gonna lose you or Mouse."

"We're not goin' anywhere, baby." Mickey promised, leaning forward to kiss Ian's soft lips. "Shit's real common, and the pills are gonna fix it in no time."

"Love wakin' up next to you." Ian said, resting his forehead against Mickey's. "Love seein' those eyes first thing in the mornin'."

"Love wakin' up and seein' you smilin' at me." Mickey admitted. "Used to dream about it all the time; wanna wake up to it the rest of my fuckin' life, man."

"As long as I'm breathing I'll be right here." Ian promised as he pulled Mickey closer to his chest. "I'm yours, Mickey."

"Better fuckin' be." Mickey shot back with a flirtatious smile on his perfect lips. "'Cause I'll fuckin' kill anyone who tries to take you away."

"Hmmm, my sexy thug husband." Ian murmured, connecting their lips in a heated, passionate kiss. "I'd fuckin' kill anyone who looked at you like they wanted you, but I'd be spendin' all my time on that."

"Bullshit." Mickey chuckled.

"You're so fuckin' gorgeous and don't even know it; people are constantly lookin' at you-wishin' they had you-and all I can think is, "I married the most beautiful man on the planet, but he looks at me like he thinks he did."" Ian muttered against Mickey's lips.

"'Cause it is you." Mickey scoffed, moving his hand to Ian's sleep mussed copper locks. "Fuckin' hot as hell."

"Think you're just biased." Ian said, kissing Mickey, again. "Kids are gonna be up, soon."

"Probably." Mickey sighed, burying his face in Ian's chest. "Let's just lay here until they do." Ian chuckled, but wrapped his arms around his husband, none the less; there are worse ways to spend his morning, after all.


	30. The World May Be Filled With Hate, But Keep Erasing It Now, Somehow

"Morning, Max!" Miss Lauder greeted as Ian walked his son into the classroom on Monday morning. Max waved and smiled at his teacher, practically vibrating out of his skin. Ian had to laugh at the boy's enthusiasm when it came to school, knowing he or Mickey neither one had been that interested in learning.

"Okay, Chipmunk, have a good day." Ian instructed as he helped his son remove his coat. "Remember Uncle Carl's pickin' you up today."

"Okay, Papa. Love you!" Max said, hugging his father tightly around his neck.

"Love you, too." Ian replied, kissing his son's hair. "I'll see you later, little man." Ian hung Max's coat up as the boy ran off to play with his friends before class started, jumping slightly when he felt a hand on his back.

"Sorry, Ian." Miss Lauder giggled as the man turned around to face her.

"Just surprised me. Somethin' wrong?" Ian asked, fearing his son-who always behaved for him and Mickey-was getting into some trouble at school.

"No, Mickey said you were bringing in Max's medication for his migraines this morning and I was just wondering if there was anything I could do to help keep him more comfortable if he gets one while he's here." Miss Lauder explained. Ian loved his son's teacher; she always went above and beyond for her students, which helped reinforce Ian's belief that moving to Dolton was the right decision for their family.

"Really, the only thing we've found that helps is if he goes to sleep after he takes his instant relief pills." Ian informed the woman, watching his son dance around with Breelynn in a very animated fashion.

"I'll make sure all of my assistants know that he can go to the nurse's office and sleep it off. Have a nice day." Miss Lauder said, making a quick note in the little blue notebook in her hands as she spoke.

"You, too. And thank you for caring." Ian replied earnestly before taking the pills out of Max's backpack and exiting the classroom.

 

"How's Max doin' on the new medication?" Fiona asked as she and Mickey checked inventory for the restaurant.

"The instant pills are a damn lifesaver; kid just conks out with 'em." Mickey replied, making a note that they were shipped one less pound of ground turkey than they had ordered.

"Poor little guy." Fiona sighed. "Didn't even know kids could get 'em."

"We didn't, either, until the neurologist told us that was what it was." Mickey replied honestly. "Still thinkin' about havin' one?"

"I don't know... It's sorta weird livin' in an empty house." Fiona answered her friend. "I mean, you and Ian sorta make it look easy, but I know better."

"Glad we got everyone fooled." Mickey laughed. "It ain't easy, but I wouldn't give up Max and Harlow for the fuckin' world."

"Got a name for the new one, yet?" Fiona asked, secretly wanting to know her next niece or nephew's name before the rest of her family.

"Katerina Deidre if we have another girl, Cian Lawson if we have another boy." Mickey didn't mind Fiona knowing their name choices; he hadn't planned to keep it a fucking secret, anyway.

"Where'd you get those?" Fiona asked as she started stacking boxes in the walk-in freezer.

"Katerina was my Mom's middle name-Ian chose that one-and Deidre is some old Irish legend she read to me when I was a kid; I picked that one." Mickey explained, rolling his eyes when Fiona refused to let him lift any of the boxes. "Cian was just me pickin' a name that would be namin' him after Carl and Ian, and Ian came up with Lawson so we had an L name for Liam."

"Deidre for Debs?" Fiona guessed, smirking when Mickey just nodded. "I should be jealous since I'm your best fuckin' friend, but it's just cute."

"I ain't fuckin' cute." The blue-eyed man grumbled irritably.

"You're namin' your kid after your husband's siblings; that's fuckin' cute, Mick." Fiona pressed. "And thank fuckin' God you're not just namin' 'em Ian if they're a boy!"

"Yeah, never happenin'." Mickey laughed.

"Any chance of gettin' both?" Fiona asked with a huge smile on her lovely face.

"Fuck no, and thank God for that shit!" Mickey exclaimed. "Only one in here."

"Not gonna have more after this one?" She knew the answer; knew that Mickey and Ian had both said this was the last child for them, but she wanted to fuck with Mickey a little bit.

"Nope. I had my first when I was nineteen, so I'm about done with the diaper phase." Mickey didn't even seem fazed by Fiona's teasing.

"Pregnancy calms your ass down a lot." She joked, bumping their shoulders together softly.

"Didn't with Max; I was a tickin' fuckin' time bomb with him." Mickey recalled, remembering how easily he was angered during his first pregnancy-despite that essentially being his default personality before having children-and cringed. "I think I spent most of the time yellin' at someone."

"Maybe it's another girl, then; if you were calmer with Harlow than with Max." Fiona reasoned.

"Whatever Mouse is we'll love 'em." Mickey said.

"Max?" Fiona guessed, knowing her nephew loved Mickey Mouse.

"Max." Mickey confirmed with a chuckle.

 

"Hey, little Chipmunk!" Carl exclaimed as the tiny redhead ran up to him outside the school with a huge smile on his face.

"Uncle Carl!" Max screeched, jumping into his uncle's arms. "My tooth is gone!" Max exclaimed, poking his tongue through the little gap created from his missing tooth.

"That's great, Max! Did you keep your tooth?" Carl asked the small boy in his arms, wondering when Max would be large enough that holding him like this would become a struggle. Carl was actually starting to believe Max would take more after Mickey than Ian when it came to his size.

"Yes, Miss Lauder gave me this." Max held up the plastic, fluorescent orange tooth hanging off a string around his neck. "Is the tooth fairy gonna visit me?"

"Sure is." Carl agreed, hugging his nephew closer to him.

"Excuse me, are you Max's father?" A man asked as he approached Carl and Max.

"No, I'm his Uncle." Carl explained, patting Max's back as the boy played with his little tooth necklace.

"Parents workin' late?" The man guessed. Something about this guy was giving Carl the fucking creeps; why was he staring at Max so intently? "My son's in his class... He said Max has, uhm... Has two fathers, but I'm sure he just saw you pickin' Max up." The man said, seemingly disgusted by the ides that Max had two fathers.

"No, Max  _does_ have two fathers; I'm his non-carrier father's younger brother." Carl said as a sort of challenge for this man to say shit to the cop-still in uniform-about his brother being gay.

"You know it's wrong, right? That God is gonna damn the poor kid's soul to hell for his fathers' sins?" The man asked, rubbing his balding head with his left hand.

"Max, go play for a minute." Carl instructed, setting the boy down and watching him run off to the playground. "You teach your kid that backwards ass way of thinkin'? 'Cause from where I'm standing-and as many fag-bashers as I've arrested-what you're doin' is worse than my brother and brother-in-law bein' in love." Carl was proud of his argument silencing the homophobe, but was worried about what Max would think after hearing those words.

 

"Hi, Papa." Max greeted monotonously. Ian stopped in his tracks as he was removing his shoes when he heard how emotionless his son sounded.

"Hey, baby boy, what's wrong?" Ian asked, sitting in the floor in front of where his son was coloring in his favorite dinosaur coloring book.

"Am I going to Hell?" Max asked, completely shocking his father.

"Why would you say that, baby?" Ian asked, looking towards the stairs as Carl descended with Harlow in his arms and both dogs at his heels.

"Homophobe at his school." Carl explained, obviously still angry about what was said in front of his nephew.

"Max, I want you to listen very closely, okay?" Max nodded, but didn't look up from his work. "Some people don't like that Daddy and I love each other or that we have you, Harlow, and the baby together because we're both boys, and they say very hurtful things because of that, but you-none of us, actually-are going to Hell because there is nothing wrong with being in love."

"Really?" Max asked, finally meeting his father's eyes wryly.

"Really, baby." Ian promised, leaning forward to kiss his son's forehead. He stood when his son seemed to accept his explanation and walked over to his brother. "Thanks for watchin' the kids, man."

"No problem." Carl replied, setting Harlow on her feet. "I got him away from the guy and told the fucker off, but he said that shit before I knew what was comin'."

"It's not your fault, Carl; some assholes are always gonna think Mick and I are doin' somethin' wrong just by bein' together." Ian reassured, all the while watching his children out of the corner of his eye as Max allowed Harlow to scribble on the picture next to the one he was working on. He was concerned, but Ian knew he and Mickey would take care of their children and reassure them every day that love was never wrong.


	31. What We Have, Here, Is Irreplaceable

"What're we gonna do?" Ian asked Mickey as they stood in the kitchen a little while after Mickey had arrived home from work and Ian had explained what had happened at Max's school. "He didn't say that shit  _in_ the school, so we can't even talk to Seth or Ryan about it." Dolton being such a small area allowed Mickey and Ian to get close to both Max's teacher-Ryan Lauder-and the principal-Seth Lowe-as well as most of the parents for their son's class, but they could do nothing about someone stating their beliefs on the sidewalk.

"I wanna go rip the motherfucker's balls off and feed 'em to him for sayin' that shit to Max." Mickey seethed, turning to face the living room, watching his children playing with Jake and Hyde in the floor. "He's fuckin' seven! Who says shit like that to a fuckin' kid?"

"I don't know, baby; all Carl knows is that the guy was bald and his kid's in Max's class. That describes about half the kids in that class' dads." Mickey knew Ian was right, because-even with Ian being in his mid-twenties and Mickey being in his late-twenties-they were the youngest parents in Max's class by far. "We'll figure something out, Mick." Ian promised the older man.

"Daddy?" Max called from the doorway, his little hands shoved deep in the pockets of his jeans. If Mickey wasn't so worried, he'd find it fucking adorable how much his son's posture reminded him of Ian.

"What's up, Chipmunk?" Mickey asked, turning enough to give Max his full attention.

"Why did Alex's Daddy say I was goin' to Hell?" Max asked, looking up at Mickey with those wide, innocent blue eyes. They knew Alex's mother, and knew the boy's father-a man in his mid-forties-had left his wife and their two children for a woman Ian's age. Mickey felt just a little better now that he knew who had said that horrible shit to his baby, but his heart was still broken by seeing Max look so scared.

"Come 'ere, Chipmunk." Mickey prompted, picking his son up when he moved closer to him. "Alex's Daddy doesn't like when two boys love each other; there are a few people who don't."

"Papa said that, too." Max mumbled, picking at the top button of Mickey's shirt. "But why?"

"'Cause they think boys should only love girls." Mickey explained.

"But you love Papa and Papa loves you... Alex's Mommy and Daddy don't love each other no more." Max said, looking between his parents. "Why don't he like that you and Daddy love each other just 'cause you're both boys? It's not bad."

"I wish I could tell you, Max." Ian sighed, feeling so guilty for not being able to explain homophobia to his son any better.

"He's stupid." Max decided, watching his sister run into the kitchen with her little arms wide, signaling for Ian to pick her up, which-of course-he did. "He don't know it's good to love someone." Ian and Mickey simultaneously decided their son was smarter than most people three times his age, and more loving than either of them had ever been as a child.

"I think you're right, Max." Mickey said, patting Max's back as the small boy hugged around his neck. "Anyone ever says something like that to you, again, just remember that me and Papa love you, okay, baby?" Max nodded, seeing how serious his father was.

 

"You ever think about how much easier shit would be if you were straight?" Mickey asked Ian after both of their children were asleep in their beds.

"No." Ian replied honestly. "What would be the point in havin' an easier life if I couldn't be with you?" He rested his hand over Mickey's abdomen. "What we got? You can't replace that, Mick."

"I know." Mickey said, dropping his hand to lay over Ian's. "Just... Our kids are already gettin' shit for us bein' gay, man, and it ain't fair to them." Ian felt like he was about to fucking puke. He knew Mickey loved him, but he loved their children more; he would do-and had done-anything for them, so did that include leaving Ian to give them an easier life? "I'm not leavin' you, Ian. Just venting." Mickey reassured Ian as if he could read his mind.

"Don't fuckin' scare me like that, asshole." Ian sighed. "I can't lose you, again, Mickey." Ian moved just enough to look Mickey in the eye. "No, it's not fair that homophobic assholes say shit like that, but we got each other's backs and we have Max and Harlow's. Whatever shit life throws our way, we can handle it." Mickey caught Ian off guard by wrapping his arms around Ian's neck and kissing him.

"We both fucked up before, but I'm not lettin' you go, again." Mickey promised as he pulled away from the kiss, panting for breath.

"Better fuckin' not." Ian purred, capturing his husband's lips in another kiss.

"Daddy, Papa?" Mickey and Ian turned their heads to the doorway where Max stood with Hyde at his feet.

"Yeah, baby?" Mickey asked, sitting up and plucking Max off his feet to set him on the bed.

"Can I cuddle with you?" Max asked, using "puppy dog" eyes on Ian; kid definitely knew how to get his way.

"Yeah, baby boy." Ian said, scooting over so Max could lay down between them. This was their lives, and-even when shit was hard to deal with-Ian and Mickey wouldn't trade a second of it.


	32. I Promise, I'll Do Better

"Daddy, stop!" Max exclaimed through a laugh as Mickey tickled his sides while he removed the boy's coat for him.

"Okay, Chipmunk." Mickey agreed with a smile, kissing his son's cheek. "You gonna have a good day?"

"Yes, Daddy." Max said with a softer laugh that was abruptly cut off when someone entered the classroom.

"Hi, Max!" Alex yelled excitedly, running over to the redheaded boy. "I got a new Dinosaur coloring book, you wanna color with me?" Alex asked, clearly hoping Max would want to play with him. Max reluctantly nodded and walked over to one of the tables with Alex.

"You're one of Max's fathers?" The pale, fat, balding man at Mickey's side asked.

"Yeah. And you're the guy who told my seven-year-old son he was goin' to Hell." Mickey seethed as he hung up Max's coat.

"I... Look, I don't know what the kid said, but-" Mickey held his hand up, silencing the man.

"First off, don't call my son a liar, because that ain't gonna fly. Second, my child didn't tell us what you said, my brother-in-law did. Pretty brave when you're talkin' to a twenty-two year old and a seven-year-old." Mickey snapped, looking towards Max's teacher as she approached them. "Hi, Ryan." Mickey greeted.

"Hi, Mickey.  _Mister Thompson,"_ Ryan Lauder emphasized that she didn't refer to this man by his first name. "Is there a problem, here?"

"Yeah." Mister Thompson said, shocking both Mickey and Ryan. "This guy's callin' me out for some shit his kid lied about when all I'm tryin' to do is drop my kid off." Mickey rolled his eyes and Ryan didn't seem convinced.

"We don't allow language like that on school grounds. I'd like you to leave before I call security." Ryan explained calmly.

"You gotta be kidding me!" The man yelled, knocking the children's cubbies over, causing several children to scream, and Max to hold his head and let out a pained shriek.

"Max!" Mickey exclaimed, moving to his son's side as fast as he could. "Baby, what's wrong?" He knew this wasn't a migraine; Max never screamed when he had a migraine. Mickey saw a broken flowerpot next to Max and realized it had hit his head when the cubbies were knocked down. "Baby, let Daddy see." Max moved his hand slowly, revealing a gash in his scalp and blood pooling around the wound and mixing into his red hair.

"I called security." One of the classroom assistants told Mickey as he picked his son up. He wasn't leaving Max here after this shit.

 

"I had a blanket in my backseat." Fiona whispered as she entered Mickey's office with a green blanket in her hands, draping it over Max where he was sleeping on the small couch. "What're you guys gonna do?"

"I got pictures of his head before and after I got him stitched up." Mickey whispered, running his fingers through Max's hair gently. He had went into the restaurant simply to talk Fiona through a few things after taking Max to the hospital to get stitches-the boy needed four of them-and planned to take him home, soon, despite Max having fallen asleep in his office. "Ryan and her assistants tried to help and handled it right, but... The asshole told him he was goin' to hell one day, then busts his head open the next."

"You gonna switch his schools?" Fiona asked, watching her nephew snuggle further into the blankets.

"Ian thinks we should after I told him what happened." Mickey said, looking down at where the bruise was blossoming on his temple. "Think he's right; this shit can't keep happening."

"Poor kid looked terrified when you two got here." Fiona sighed, feeling horrible that Max had gone through all of this. "I couldn't do this shit the way you two can; you guys care more about how Max is dealin' with it than beating the shit outta the guy."

"I wanted to, but when I heard Max scream and saw him holdin' his head I knew I had to think about him, first." Mickey admitted. "Bein' a parent is a fulltime fuckin' job you get paid for in puke stained shirts, piss covered sheets, and sticky handprints on everything... But, you also get those "I love yous", smiles, and shit that makes it worth it."

"He's such a sweet kid... How could anyone hate him?" Fiona asked quietly.

"It's more about Me and Ian than Max, and that shit's the worst part." Mickey wanted to fucking kill the guy who had hurt his kid, and if he ever sees the man outside of the school he might.

"Get him home; I can handle this shit." Fiona reassured, kissing Max's injured head as Mickey stood with the boy in his arms.

 

"Carl thinks we should file a lawsuit." Ian said, trying to remain calm as he cleaned Max's injury. "Proud of you for not makin' it worse."

"Wanted to fuckin' kill him when I saw Max bleedin'." Mickey admitted. "He fuckin' hurt our kid, man."

"I know, baby, and I wish we could really do something, but we gotta worry about Max." Ian said, looking at the stitches on top of Max's head. "You feelin' okay, baby boy?"

"My head hurts." Max whimpered. "Why did Alex's Daddy throw the cubbies?"

"He was mad, Chipmunk." Ian tried to explain as he helped his son out of the bathtub. "You wanna sleep in Daddy and Papa's bed for awhile?" Ian asked, knowing Max would only sleep a few hours, considering it was only ten AM. Max nodded, barely able to keep his eyes open as Ian helped him get dressed. Both men had decided they needed to be home with their son right now, and Ian was glad he'd rushed home after talking to Mickey, or he would have fucking killed the man who had done this to his son. "Go lay down, okay, baby?"

Mickey sighed and scooped Max up when the boy seemed a little sluggish as he started moving towards his parents' bedroom. "Doctor checked him for a concussion and said he was okay... Should he really be this out of it?"

"Hit to the head and stress mixed with the fact that he has Migraines... He's probably just exhausted. We'll wake him up every hour or so just to be sure." Ian insisted as he slowly followed Mickey to their bedroom where Harlow was already curled up on the bed, her right thumb in her mouth and her left hand draped over Jake. Once they were certain Max was asleep they walked out to the living room, both clearly angry about the situation at the school.

"I can call Iggy; have him kick the guy's ass for us." Mickey ranted, pacing from the kitchen to the living room.

"We have kids, Mick; we gotta handle this like adults." Ian reasoned, despite wanting to see the man beat down.

"Which is why I didn't knock the motherfucker on his ass as soon as he fuckin' busted our son's head open." Mickey snapped angrily. "He's not goin' back to that school."

"Okay." Ian agreed. "We can send him to Franklin, it's supposed to be a pretty good school." Ian remembered them looking at Franklin Elementary when they first moved to Dolton before Harlow was born.

"Yeah." Mickey agreed, chewing on his thumbnail. "God, I wanna fuckin' kill him, Ian!"

"Hey," Ian stepped in front of Mickey, pulling his thumbnail from his mouth. "You took care of Max; you did the right thing, here, Mick."

"Motherfucker didn't spout out his homophobic shit to my face-told me Max was a fuckin' liar-then he started yellin' and... Next thing I know Max is screamin' and holdin' his head." Mickey hated thinking about how much pain his son had clearly been in, and he wished he could have done more for him.

"We'll worry about Max, now, and worry about that asshole when the time comes." Ian whispered, pecking Mickey on the lips. Mickey nodded and allowed Ian to pull him into his arms, taking in comfort from the eldest of his redheads.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mickey and Ian are definitely going to have a moment with Alex's dad, but I wanted to make him just a little more hateable before that moment comes. Leave me some comments and let me know what you think. Much love!


	33. Enemy Fire

Mickey and Ian had been contacted by Mari Thompson-Alex's mother-who had apologized profusely for her ex-husband's actions and begged them to allow Alex and Max to have "play dates" so the two boys-who had been close friends before the incident with Chris Thompson-could still see one another now that Max was attending another school. Ian and Mickey had always liked the boy's mother, but were still apprehensive to have Alex around Max, due to the fear that the boy would repeat his father's homophobic words. "Max loves Alex, so we can't keep him away from his friend, forever." Ian reason, laying with his head in Mickey's lap on their couch.

"I know, but I don't want my baby hearin' that homophobic shit if I can help it." Mickey sighed, listening for Max to come downstairs for breakfast. It was a Saturday morning and-oddly enough-Harlow was awake and Max was still sleeping.

"I don't want it, either, baby, but stressing about all of this shit isn't good for the baby." Ian calmly explained. "Mari said she's tryin' to get supervised visitation, right? And, I mean, Mari's our friend; do you really wanna stop talking to her 'cause her ex-husband is a piece of shit?" Damn Ian for making sense! Mickey genuinely liked Mari Thompson, and liked how good of a friend Alex had been to Max.

"Fuck, fine!" Mickey conceded, not looking down at the pleased look on Ian's face.

"Daddy's a big ol' softy when it comes to his babies, sweetheart." Ian whispered to Mickey's stomach.

"Your Papa is a complete asshole and Daddy hates him." Mickey said, rubbing his own abdomen.

"Daddy loves Papa and Papa loves Daddy." Mickey hated to admit it, but he loved Ian talking to their unborn child-had loved it with Harlow, as well-and thought it was sweet to see how much Ian already adored their child. "What?" Ian asked, looking up at Mickey.

"I love you." Mickey blurted out, realizing that he loved this man-his husband and the father of his children-a little more everyday.

"I love you, too." Ian said with a grin, sitting up to kiss Mickey. "You were my first baby, after all."

"Cheesy asshole." Mickey chuckled against Ian's lips.

"Daddad? Yub yay-dee-bud?" Harlow asked, slowly climbing onto the couch.

"Daddy loves his Ladybug very much." Mickey said, kissing her curly red locks.

 

Chris Thompson was fucking furious; his bitch of an ex-wife was taking his kids away from him, his son was afraid of him because the faggot's kid got hurt, and his girlfriend-Jenna-left him because of all the shit going on with those two fags. He had found out from a friend where they lived, and-after a few drinks-decided to head over to their house on Saturday night. He pounded on the door with a heavy fist, knowing they were still awake due to the light spilling through the curtains in what he assumed was the living room.

"Max, get off the coffee table." One of the men called as he walked to the front door. Chris jumped slightly when he saw a dog snarling at him through the window.

"Can I help you?" A redheaded man asked Chris, clearly wondering what he was doing here so late at night.

"I'm Chris... Thompson." At that, the man's facial expression changed to one of pure rage.

"Get the fuck off my porch." The redhead ordered, clearly pissed off to no end.

"Ian?" Another man called as he approached the door. "The fuck are you doin' here?" The other man-Mickey, Chris remembered Alex's teacher calling him-said as he glared at Chris.

"You... You got my fuckin' kids taken away!" Chris yelled, attempting to lunge at Mickey before the redhead-Ian, Mickey had called him-knocked Chris flat on his ass and pinned him to the ground.

"Call Carl." Ian said calmly, watching Mickey walk back into the house before leaning over and whispering in Chris' ear. "Stay the fuck away from my family you piece of shit, 'cause next time it'll be Mick who comes out here, and he won't be as fuckin' nice as I was." Chris saw red as he flipped the man over when he was momentarily distracted and threw a punch at his left eye. "I warned you."

Chris was confused, up until a fist collided with the side of his head and he was knocked off the redhead. He didn't have time to recover before several more punches were thrown at his face, each one disorienting him a little bit more; the guy was small, but he packed a hell of a punch once he got his hands on you. "Fucker's lucky that's all I did."

"Go inside with the kids, Mick." Ian instructed, gently leading his husband into the house. "You think this'll get your kids back? Comin' to our house in the middle of the fuckin' night-drunk off your ass-and tryin' to attack my pregnant husband?"

"No." Chris took the gun from his pocket and aimed at the redhead, who-to his credit-didn't fucking flinch.

"I'm fuckin' Southside, asshole; had a gun in my fuckin' face, before." Ian seethed, shoving Chris' shaking hand. "You're makin' yourself look worse." Chris could hear sirens and cursed under his breath. "Remember my brother? The cop? Yeah. That'd be him."

"Long time, no see." Carl sarcastically shouted as he approached the house. "You okay, Ian?"

"Fine; he was too scared to pull the trigger." Ian said coolly.

"The kids okay?" Carl asked his brother, obviously very concerned for their wellbeing.

"Never even saw either of 'em. He went to hit Mick, I got him down, had Mick call you, then he started punchin' me and Mick got him." Ian explained to Carl. "He's trashed, man."

"Gonna have to come back and get a statement from you two, later." Carl said as he cuffed Chris and lifted him off the ground. "Mickey's okay, right? Didn't get any good hits in?"

"Never got a hand on Mickey." Ian assured the younger man. "Mick did a number on him, though." Chris heard the cop try to cover a laugh with a cough as he was ushered to the police car and carted off to jail.

 

"Eye looks rough, man." Mickey commented as he cleaned the area of split skin on Ian's cheek.

"Kids didn't hear any of that shit, right?" Ian asked through a wince as Mickey touched the sensitive, bruised flesh.

"Harlow never even woke up and Max was watchin' cartoons on his tablet with headphones on; Jake and Hyde were staying pretty close to 'em." Mickey promised, making Ian even happier that he had chose Hyde all of those years ago and adopted Jake early last year. "Didn't have to go after him, man."

"He tried to hit you, Mickey; I'm not gonna let someone hurt you." Ian said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "You should've let me handle it."

"Think I'd let someone fuckin' knock the shit outta you?" Mickey asked, setting aside the cloth he was using to clean the gash on Ian's cheek. "Didn't get a fuckin' hand on me. I'm okay, Ian; the baby's okay."

"Don't do something like that again." Ian ordered softly. "He was fuckin' drunk, but if he comes near you again... Fuck, Mick, I wanted to kill the asshole."

"I know." Mickey said with a nod. "He's gone, okay? No harm done to anything but your fuckin' face."

"Fuck you, you love my face." Ian said with a pleased smirk on his face as he pulled Mickey to straddle his lap.

"Ain't too bad." Mickey murmured, leaning in to kiss Ian. "Look kinda badass, right now."

"Gonna do somethin' about it?" Ian purred, moving his lips to Mickey's throat.

"I'd fuckin' love to, but our son's in our bed and my ass is spoiled, now." Mickey moaned, tipping his head to give Ian more access. "Fuck, babe, you gotta stop."

"Fine. But just so you know, as soon as Debbie takes the kids tomorrow? You better be fuckin' naked in that bed." Ian growled, pulling away to kiss Mickey. "Come on, let's go to bed." Ian stood up with Mickey in his arms, carrying a hysterically laughing Mickey to bed for the night, both feeling a little better now that they had gotten a chance to knock the shit out of Chris Thompson.


	34. Help Me Out, Guys!

I need help deciding if the new baby will be a boy or a girl, so leave me your votes in the comments! After I get your votes I'll write a chapter to let you know if Ian and Mickey will be welcoming Cian Lawson Gallagher or Katerina Deirdre Gallagher into the world. Much love to all of you guys!


	35. A New Beginning

Around the time Mickey started showing, Harlow changed a lot. Not in a negative way, but she certainly acted different; she was pronouncing words correctly, her sentence structure was near perfect-as far as a toddler went-and she had wanted to start using the toilet without Mickey and Ian having to try and force potty training on the toddler. "Daddy home!" Harlow yelled as Mickey entered the house with Ian close behind him after his doctor's appointment. Mickey picked his daughter up and kissed her cheek as he and Ian walked into the living room where Debbie, Franny, and Max were sitting in the floor with coloring books and crayons.

"Hi Daddy, hi Papa." Max said with a smile. "Did you get a picture of the baby?"

"Yeah, we did, Chipmunk, come 'ere." Ian said, sitting on the couch with his husband and Daughter and waiting for Max to join them.

"Could they get a good look?" Debbie asked, turning her attention to her brother and brother-in-law.

"Yeah, we did." Mickey laughed, handing Ian an ultrasound picture of their third child. "He ain't a bit shy."

"Baby brother?" Harlow asked, placing both hands on Mickey's stomach.

"Yeah, Ladybug, you got a baby brother." Mickey agreed, watching as Harlow rubbed his extended abdomen.

"What his name?" Harlow asked, looking up to meet Mickey's eyes.

"His name's Cian." Ian informed both children as Max's small hand joined his sister's.

"Key-ann." Harlow enunciated-a habit she'd picked up, recently-before looking over at Max. "Max Chipmunk, I Lay-dee-bug, what Key-ann?"

"Cian's Mouse, remember, Sissy?" Max asked his sister, gently.

"Can't believe you two are havin' another little boy." Debbie said with a tearful smile. "He's got a lot to live up to with Max as his big brother."

"What do you mean, Aunt Debs?" Max asked, laying his head on Ian's chest.

"She means you're an awesome little boy, and that Daddy and I are very lucky you're our little Chipmunk." Ian said, kissing his son's cheeks repeatedly.

"Papa, stop!" Max laughed, going boneless in Ian's arms.

"Uncle Mickey, can I touch the baby?" Franny asked, moving to stand in front of her uncle.

"Yeah, Mini Red." Mickey said, allowing the girl to touch his stomach. "He was movin' a lot, earlier." Just as Mickey said this, Cian decided to give a rather harsh kick to make his presence known.

"I feel it!" Harlow exclaimed excitedly.

"I wanna feel." Max said quietly, letting Mickey move his hand just as he did with Franny's hand.

"Baby, say somethin'." Mickey said quietly, having realized as soon as Cian had started moving that he was most active when Ian was close by and talking.

"Hey, Mouse, you wanna kick for us? Your brother and cousin wanna feel it." Ian said, leaning over Mickey enough to speak directly to his unborn son. The baby kicked again, earning gasps and wide-eyes from both seven-year-olds.

"Hi, Mouse... I'm Max; I'm your big brother." Max introduced himself to his brother.

"I'm your cousin Franny." Franny said, rubbing the spot her baby cousin had just kicked.

"I Harlow. I you big sissy." Harlow said, clearly wanting to be like her cousin and brother. Mickey, Ian, and Debbie just watched the three children caressing Mickey's baby bump as if they could already touch the newest Gallagher.

 

"Can't believe he's gonna be here in a few months." Ian whispered, stroking the taut skin of Mickey's stomach as the laid in their bed after feeding, bathing, and putting both children to bed. "Holy shit, baby, we're gonna have three kids."

"Just now realizin' that?" Mickey scoffed, watching with a fond smile as Ian's eyes darted to his stomach when Cian kicked, again. "Think he likes hearin' his Papa talk."

"Don't remember Harlow bein' this active." Ian mumbled, rubbing the spot his son had just kicked. "Was Max?"

"Sometimes. He had days where he never fuckin' stopped kickin', and some days I was fuckin' terrified I lost him 'cause he didn't move at all." Mickey said, trying not to think back to all ot the times he'd cried because he thought he'd done something wrong and his baby was gone. "This one likes to do fuckin' somersaults, though."

"My boy's got a lot of energy." Ian chuckled. "He's gonna be a handful."

"All three of your damn kids are." Mickey replied without a hint of malice in his voice. "Max is too smart for his own damn good, Harlow is a hyper little shit, and this one is gearin' up to put her to shame."

"Shut up, you love my kids." Ian shot back, moving to kiss the brunette on his full lips.

"Just 'cause I love my babies don't mean they ain't fuckin' crazy." Ian fucking loved hearing Ian call their children "my babies"; it was fucking amazing to think the shit-talking, bitch-slapping, piece of Southside trash he fell in love with was so affectionate towards their children. "Harlow decided to fuckin' grow up on us outta nowhere, man."

"Think she realized she had to be a big girl 'cause she's gonna be a big sister, soon." Ian thought aloud. "Cian's a lucky kid; his big sister's always gonna be there for him to play with, and his big brother's always gonna have his back."

"Yeah, he is." Mickey whispered, snuggling deeper into the covers. "I love you."

"I love you, too. So much." Ian pecked Mickey's lips softly and curled up around his husband, falling asleep to the gentle sounds of Mickey's breathing and with his hand still laying over where their child was growing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little Boy won the vote, and Cian Lawson Gallagher will be joining the family, soon. Thank you guys for the help! Much love!


	36. Fears

Mickey didn't mind going to his therapist's office-he liked the fact that he was getting treatment for his Depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder-but he didn't like the fact that it meant he had less time with his children and husband on the days he met with Doctor Marshall; he thrived on being around Ian, Max, and Harlow as often as possible. "How are you feeling with this pregnancy, Mickey?" Doctor Marshall asked the heavily pregnant brunette.

"Good; better than I felt when I was pregnant with Max or Harlow." Mickey replied honestly. He actually felt hopeful this time around; no longer fearing he would have to raise his children alone because Ian would wake up one morning and decide he didn't want a family. "The kids are excited to meet their little brother."

"And Ian?" Doctor Marshall asked, already knowing all about Mickey's constant fear of being left alone with two-now three-children.

"Over the fuckin' moon, man. He talks to Cian all the time." Mickey answered with a fond smile as he remembered waking up to Ian talking quietly to his baby bump. "Kid goes crazy as soon as Ian starts talkin'."

"How is Harlow doing with all of this? You said she's quite the Daddy's girl." Doctor Marshall questioned so calmly Mickey wondered if he was secretly prescribing himself some of the medications he prescribed his patients.

"Real good. She started wantin' to potty train and workin' on her speech." Mickey was fucking proud of how well his daughter was doing in recent months.

"You're aware you may experience severe depression again after he's born, correct, Mickey?" Doctor Marshall warned, and Mickey nodded. "I have two kids, you know; my sons are twenty-four and eighteen. After my youngest-Wesley-was born, my wife experienced postpartum depression, and I was terrified for her."

"How's she doin' now?" Mickey asked nervously.

"Great. She did well with medication and therapy. Our oldest-Ryan-actually just had twin girls with his wife; I've never seen Laura-my wife-as happy as she is with our granddaughters." Doctor Marshall replied with a soft smile. "You're doing very well, Mickey, and I want you to keep this progress up. So, for the remainder of your pregnancy, I'd like you to keep a journal.

"If you feel afraid, overwhelmed, or depressed, I want you to write it down. And, I'd like you to write down anything that makes you incredibly happy, as well to balance the book out." Doctor Marshall instructed, handing Mickey a black composition book before ushering the man out of his office.

 

"And then we, uhm, we made flower pots outta cans." Max recounted his day at school as the family ate dinner. "Me and my friend Tim don't got mommies, so we asked Ms. James if we could make somethin' for our Daddies  _and_ somethin' for Lily and Patrick's Mommies, 'cause they both got two Mommies."

"Was that Tim's idea or yours?" Ian asked his son as he cut Harlow's grilled cheese-the only thing other than oranges and tomatoes that she would eat this week-into fourths so she could more easily pick it up.

"Mine. They got two Mommies, so both of their Mommies gotta have a present, and since we don't got Mommies, we gotta make presents for our Daddies." Max explained as if what he was saying were no big deal.

"That's awesome, Chipmunk." Mickey praised, squeezing his son's shoulder softly. Max had a big heart-bigger than Mickey thought any child should-and he loved seeing how happy doing something for other people made the little redheaded boy.

"Daddy, I have cat-chup, please?" Harlow asked quietly, lifting her "Alice In Wonderland" tumbler to get a drink of her orange juice.

"Sure, Ladybug." Mickey replied, squirting a little bit of ketchup on her plate so she could dip her grilled cheese-something even pregnant Mickey found a little gross-in it. 

"That good, Baby Girl?" Ian asked the toddler-happily dancing in her seat as she chewed her sandwich-with a clearly amused smile on his face.

"Yes." Harlow replied, popping another bite of her sandwich into her mouth. Mickey and Max simply chuckled to themselves as Ian tried to wipe ketchup off Harlow's cheek as she continued to dance around in her chair.

 

_**May 3rd** _

_Max came up with the idea to make two of his friends with Lesbian parents another present for Mother's Day. He has a friend who has Gay dads who helped him, and I just... How the hell is this boy my kid? He's so fucking sweet! You asked me to write what made me happy? Max being the amazing little boy he's always been makes me happy. Harlow dancing around cause we let her have ketchup to dip her grilled cheese in makes me happy. And Ian loving every fucking minute he spends with our kids makes me happy. All three of them make being scared, or depressed, or whatever other shit worth it in the end._


	37. Alone

Fiona and Ian talked Mickey into starting his leave when he was eight months along after his doctor informed him that-due to Cian's size and position-he was at risk of going into labor early. Along with that, Debbie was at the house watching the kids and making sure Mickey took it easy. "Daddy, is the baby gonna be here, soon?" Max asked as he snuggled into his father's side.

"Yeah, Chipmunk. You ready to have a little brother?" Mickey knew that-despite seeming happy about Mickey's pregnancy-Max wasn't too fond of the idea of no longer being the only boy.

"I'm always gonna be your chipmunk, right?" Max asked, looking up at his father through his shimmering copper lashes.

"Always. You're Daddy's first baby, and my only chipmunk." Mickey promised, pulling his son closer to his side.

"Can I teach him how to write his letters when he gets big?" Max asked, warming Mickey's heart more than he'd admit aloud.

"Sure, Chipmunk; Papa and me are gonna need your help." Mickey replied with a wink as Debbie, Franny, and Harlow descended the stairs.

"Ready to go to the park, Max?" Debbie asked, helping Harlow slip her shoes on.

"Yeah. Love you, Daddy." Max kissed Mickey's cheek before hopping up and putting his own shoes on.

"Love you, Daddy!" Harlow chirped, climbing on to the couch and kissing Mickey's nose.

"Love you guys, too. Be good for Aunt Debs." Both children nodded and waved to their father as they exited the house with Debbie and Franny. Mickey listened to the younger Gallagher's car pulling away and cringed as pains started radiating from his abdomen.

 

 _"You sure it's nothin'?"_ Ian nervously asked his husband. He'd called during his break, only to find out Mickey was experiencing Braxton-Hicks contractions after Debbie had taken their eldest two children-and her own daughter-to the park.  _"I can come home if somethin' else is goin' on, baby."_

"I'm fine, Ian; you were here the whole time I was havin' 'em with Harlow." Mickey tried to reassure the younger man.

 _"I don't like you being alone when it's happening."_ Ian mumbled stubbornly.

"I know, but I'm okay." Mickey said calmly, trying to breathe slowly through the contractions. "I'm not goin' into labor."

 _"Just take it easy?"_ Ian begged, hoping that Mickey really was only experiencing Braxton-Hicks contractions and was not going into labor while he was home alone.

"Promise. See you when you get home, baby." Mickey sighed, glad he no longer felt any pains for the moment.

 _"Okay. Love you."_ Ian replied, wishing he could go home.

"Love you, too." Mickey reluctantly hung up his phone and laid on the couch with his hands on his rounded abdomen. He prayed to fucking God he was right about what was going on; he was in no way ready for Cian to be here.

 

Mickey could no longer pretend what he was experiencing wasn't labor pains; he'd been having contractions for over an hour, and they were coming closer together, now. He was in labor, and he had to get ahold of Ian like he promised.  _"Hey, baby."_ Ian greeted as he answered the phone.

"It's not Braxton-Hicks." Mickey rushed out, knowing Ian would freak out once he said it. "You ready to meet Cian?"

 _"Fuck yes."_ Ian agreed, a mixture of excitement and fear coming through in his voice.  _"I'll call Debbie on my way home; have her and Fi watch the kids. I love you, baby."_

"I love you, too." Mickey replied, hanging up and trying to breathe through an intense contraction. Mickey spent the twenty minutes between the end of the call and Ian's arrival thinking about what Cian would look like-considering they decided against 3D ultrasounds-and how his two eldest children would respond to the baby.

He was relieved, however, that his contractions were not as painful as they had been with Max or Harlow-he assumed because this was his third child-so he hadn't spent the entire time just writhing in pain. "Hey. You ready to meet our boy?" Ian asked softly, having entered the house when Mickey was distracted.

"Fuck yes." Mickey sighed, reaching his hand out for Ian to help him off the couch. He was so ready to meet his son.

 

On August third twenty-twenty four at two AM, Cian Lawson Gallagher came into the world three weeks early, weighing in at six pounds even-large, considering he was premature-and measuring nineteen inches long. He was a miniature Mickey-boasting the older man's dark hair, skin tone, cheekbones, nose, lips, and chin-though both men were positive he'd have Ian's green eyes once they changed from the typical newborn blue color. Mickey was already wrapped around this little boy's tiny finger, and he couldn't imagine him being more perfect.

"Doctor says everything is all good." Ian whispered to his husband as Mickey sat up in his hospital bed and stared down at their newborn son. "He was in while you were sleepin'."

"Three weeks ain't too bad, so I guess we shoulda known he'd be okay." Mickey muttered, gently lifting Cian into his arms. The parents had been-understandably-nervous due to Cian being born premature, but it seemed their son was just fine.

"Better to know for sure." Ian said in agreement, moving to sit in the hospital bed beside his husband and looking down at their beautiful son. "He's fuckin' gorgeous."

"Looks just like me." Mickey muttered, watching Ian caress Cian's hand and the infant clutch his thumb like a lifeline. "Shouldn't be surprised that he's your brat; kid was goin' crazy over you before he was even born."

"Well yeah; like you said, he looks just like you, and I won you over." Ian surprised Mickey with a quick kiss-which only surprised him because he'd been looking down at Cian-and pulled away with a smile. "It's also why he's so perfect; because he looks just like his Daddy."

"Fuckin' sap." Mickey chuckled. "Wanna hold your damn son?"

"Obviously." Ian scoffed, taking Cian into his arms. "You wanna cuddle with Papa so Daddy can get some more sleep?" Ian asked the squirming infant quietly, moving to the chair beside Mickey's bed. He spent maybe five minutes looking between his two brunettes until Mickey dozed off and Ian decided to snap a photo of his son, now comfortably snuggled up to his chest with his lips parted slightly and seemingly sleeping soundly.

_**Ian Gallagher:** Our new little guy is here! Meet Cian Lawson Gallagher, he's six pounds, nineteen inches long, perfectly healthy, and-clearly-just as beautiful as his Daddy. Papa loves you, little Mouse.  **With-Mickey Gallagher.**_

Ian was happy, and-if it was possible-loved Mickey more than ever. Life was definitely good for the Gallaghers.

 


	38. The Newest Addition

"Stay with Papa and Bubby, Ladybug." Ian instructed his daughter as he walked his two eldest children to Mickey's hospital room to meet Cian for the first time.

"Daddy's sleep, right?" Harlow asked, still trying to grasp basic sentence structure.

"Yeah, Daddy's asleep." Ian told their daughter as he approached the door. "Key might still be sleepin', too." Ian warned, looking down at his uncharacteristically quiet son. Max seemed almost nervous to meet his new brother, which surprised Ian. "You okay, Chipmunk?"

"Hospital smells make my head hurt." Max admitted, easing Ian's worries only slightly; he hadn't even thought about what the sterile smell of bleach in a hospital would do to Max, considering he suffered from migraines. "Is it gonna make Mouse's head hurt?"

"We don't know that, yet, bud; he can't talk, so he can't tell us if he has a headache." Ian informed his son as he reached for the doorhandle. "You guys ready to meet your brother?" Despite having a headache, Max still smiled wider than Ian would have thought possible and nodded his tiny head, while Harlow bounced on the balls of her feet and nodded frantically, making her mess of red curls fly everywhere. "Let's go, then."

 

"Guess you're the one who's gonna take after your Papa, huh? He's a tall fucker." Mickey mused to the infant laying in his arms. He couldn't believe how much larger Cian was than Harlow or Max, considering he was technically premature. "He should be back, soon with Max and Harlow."

"Okay, guys, we gotta be quiet." Ian whispered as the door opened, shining the overly bright lights on Mickey's three redheads.

"Don't worry about it; we're up." Mickey informed his husband, smirking when Ian's head snapped in his direction and his two eldest children took a running start for the bed. "Let Papa help you guys up." Mickey instructed, watching Ian closely as he sat Max and then Harlow on the bed beside him.

"Hi, baby." Harlow murmured in complete awe, stroking her index finger down Cian's tiny fist. "Key look like you." She said to Mickey, turning her large blue eyes up towards her father.

"Yeah, he does." Mickey chuckled, shifting Cian enough that Max could get a good look at him.

"He's bigger than Sissy was." Max mused, cocking his head to the side as he inspected his newest sibling. "Was I that big?"

"No, Cian's a chunk." Mickey replied, making Max let out a tiny laugh. "You feelin' okay, baby boy?"

"I got a headache, but I'm okay, Daddy." Max assured Mickey, laying his head on the man's arm.

"Papa, Key is fat." Harlow giggled, pointing at Cian's chubby cheek.

"He's just chunky, Ladybug." Ian said, trying not to laugh at how blunt his daughter was; how much like  _Mickey_ she was. "You were chubby, too."

"No." Harlow laughed, laying back against the pillows behind Mickey.

"Yes." Ian replied, blowing raspberries on her still chubby cheek.

"He's cute." Max said, staring down at the baby resting comfortably against Mickey's chest. "He's quiet, too."

"Think he's tryin' to figure out who all these people are." Mickey joked, winking slyly at Max, who giggled adorably at his father. Ian snuck quickly to the end of the bed and took a picture of his husband and their three beautiful children.

_**Ian Gallagher:** Max and Harlow are loving their new brother. My babies are all amazingly beautiful, as you can see :-)  **With-Mickey Gallagher**_

__Ian looked up and caught Mickey smirking at him, his vibrant eyes locked on Ian's as Max and Harlow fawned over Cian. How the hell was Ian Gallagher this lucky?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First update of 2018! I've been dealing with major writer's block for the past few weeks and I am so glad it's over and I can get back to writing. Leave me some comments to let me know what you thought of this chapter. Much love!


	39. We're Home

Ian wasn't as nervous bringing Cian home as he'd been when they brought Harlow home; he knew what to expect with a newborn this time around. "Welcome home, Key!" Ian cooed happily as he carried the baby into the house, followed by Mickey and both of their older children.

"Papa, can Key meet Hyde and Jake, yet?" Max asked, scratching both dogs' heads. Ian knew the dogs would be fine with Cian-they'd always been good with Max and Harlow-so he sat on the couch gently beside a still rather sore Mickey and allowed Hyde to jump up next to him so he could look at Cian and Jake to sniff his fingers.

"You guys like Cian?" Ian asked, smiling when Jake nudged Cian's leg with his nose happily and Hyde continued to happily sniff the newborn baby boy.

"Daddy, I think they like Key." Max said as he joined his parents on the couch.

"Think you're right, buddy." Mickey agreed, kissing Max's hair. Mickey was happy he was finally home-after three long days-with his husband and their babies; he loved being in their house with their dogs where Max and Harlow could play.

"Hi, Jake." Harlow said, hugging her lovable companion's neck. Jake turned to nuzzle her red hair, loving that he got so much attention from his girl. "Good boy." Everyone was happy, and Ian couldn't be more relieved.

 

"Harlow didn't cry this much." Ian sighed in despair as he gently rocked Cian later that night after he and Mickey had put their eldest two children to bed. "Did Max?"

"Never cried." Mickey sighed, taking Cian into his arms after he'd removed his shirt, trying to feed him to see if it would calm him. Cian latched on quickly, already an excellent eater at only three days old. "There we go, little man."

"This gonna be our lives with this one? He cries unless he's eatin'?" Ian tried to joke, though he hated seeing Cian cry as much as he did his other children.

"Might have a stomachache." Mickey mused, rubbing Cian's stomach as he continued to nurse. "Max got 'em pretty bad when he was a baby." Mickey grabbed one of the burp clothes covered in circus animals off the nightstand, covered his shoulder, and began to burp the now content infant. "There we go, baby boy." Mickey praised when Cian let out a belch.

"Think little butthead was just hungry, again, weren't you, chunk?" Ian cooed, wiping milk off Cian's chin. "You look so much like your Daddy, handsome boy."

"Poor little guy's gonna have it rough, then." Mickey replied, kissing Cian's forehead as his eyes closed. "Max got enough of you in him to make up for it."

"Think it's the other way around." Ian replied, watching as Mickey allowed Cian to snuggle closer to his bare chest. "Skin-to-skin might've been what he needed."

"Maybe; might've just wanted his Daddy to hold him, instead, huh, Key?" Mickey teasingly asked their-now sleeping-son. "Myla malenʹka mysha."

"What is that?" Ian asked, furrowing his eyebrows as he tried to decipher the foreign tongue his husband was speaking in.

"Ukrainian." Mickey answered without hesitation. "Ma taught all three of us Ukrainian."

"Kinda hot." Ian purred against the side of Mickey's neck.

"One, I had a baby three days ago, and two, I'm holdin' our son." Mickey laughed softly, feeling the soft, tickling sensation of Ian's stubbled cheek and chin against his skin.

"So? Means I can't kiss my hot fuckin' husband?" Ian asked innocently, moving to kiss Mickey's lips, next. "I cannot fuckin' believe how amazing you are, Mick."

"Not that amazing." Mickey replied with a blush. Yes, he was fucking proud as shit of himself for giving birth to three children, and, yes, he had done a good job of making his own life while providing for his son, but he was still just a Milkovich piece of shit at heart, but he was anything but amazing.

"Are you kidding me?" Ian asked, moving back to get a good look at Mickey. "You speak two languages, work your ass off, you're smart as fuck, and you're so goddamn gorgeous... God, baby, you're perfect." Ian gushed, brushing a piece of hair away from Mickey's face. "I hope our kids are half as perfect as their Daddy."

"YA lyublyu tebe tak bahato chohosʹ." Mickey laughed before he shook his head with a fond smile on those beautiful, full lips and pulled Ian into a sweet kiss. He loved this fucking dork so much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:  
> Myla malenʹka mysha-Sweet little mouse  
> YA lyublyu tebe tak bahato chohosʹ-I love you so fucking much


	40. Money On My Mind

The biggest problem with three children under the age of ten is money; between clothes, food, diapers, utilities, house payments, school trips, lunch money, copays at Doctor's offices, paying for medications, and gas money for the commute to work, a paycheck gets stretched thin. How the hell could they make an EMT and restaurant manager salary go far enough to support their children? "Fuck." Mickey sighed, running his tattooed fingers through his messy dark hair as he looked over their bills. "We're barely gettin' by, man."

"I can work a few extra twenty-fours a month." Ian offered, picking up the Electric bill off the kitchen table. "If I talk to Rita she'll give me a few."

"You can't do that shit until Cian turns eighteen, baby." Mickey pointed out, knowing his husband would gladly work as many extra hours as he could to support his family. "He's only three months old, now, and we're barely makin' ends meet."

"I could go back." Ian said, knowing his husband would understand what he meant. "They'd give me weekends."

"Fuck no!" Mickey shouted, jumping up from his seat at the kitchen table. "What the fuck are you thinkin'?! You wanna go back to fuckin' shakin' your ass for a bunch of old fuckin' queens all weekend instead of actually bein' with your family?" Ian felt guilty, but he needed to be able to support his family.

"No, I don't, but what else are we supposed to do, baby? We have to take care of our kids." Ian attempted to reason with Mickey, though he knew his husband would always have anger towards his past as a stripper. "If you have any other ideas I'm all ears, but this is the only fuckin' option I'm seein'."

"I don't want anyone else lookin' at you." Mickey whispered, looking down at his pale hands. "You're my fuckin' husband, and I don't want a bunch of fuckin' assholes starin' at you."  
"We'll figure somethin' out." Ian promised the other man, taking Mickey's hands in his much larger ones. He was just as concerned as the brunette, but they would figure it out; they always did.

 

"So, what, you guys thinkin' of movin' to a smaller house?" Fiona asked her brother-in-law as they went through payroll papers.

"Can't exactly move into a smaller place-we got three kids-but we gotta figure somethin' out." Mickey said, chewing on his thumbnail.

"Jack's got a friend who's plannin' on remodeling his house; Ian's done all that shit, before, so maybe he could do it on weekends and make some extra money." Fiona offered, hoping to relieve some of her brother-in-law's anxiety.

"He's talkin' about goin' back to the club." Mickey disclosed, feeling sick at the thought of his husband dancing for strangers, again; he'd seen him dance in those little gold shorts, gyrating his hips in other men's laps, and heard stories about the men he'd blown in the bathroom of the club far too many times, as is.

"He's seriously gonna go back to dancin'?" Fiona asked, completely shocked that her brother was considering stripping at this point in his life; he was married with three children, for Christ's sake!

"Yeah." Mickey said, feeling slightly peeved that Ian was planning to fucking go back to sucking stranger's cocks and taking off his damn clothes just for extra money.

"Mick, sweetie, we both know he's not gonna cheat on you." Fiona said carefully, hoping Mickey didn't think Ian would fall back into his old ways.

"Yeah, I know, that don't mean I gotta like him fuckin' shakin' his ass for cash." Mickey grunted, taking off his glasses and slamming them on the desk. He felt completely fucking defeated; his husband was desperate enough to go back to the club, and he could do nothing to stop it.

 

"How much would you bet, That if I tried hard enough I would spontaneously combust? I wish I could disappear, And run away from all of my fears I think I'm coming undone. So stay the night, I promise that I won't bite, 'Cause without you there I don't think I could close my eyes. How do I end up this way? A constant knot in my gut, Tied with uncertainty and with lust. A classic case, I suppose, A haunted man who can't out run his ghosts, They're in my skin, in my bones." Ian sang softly-and probably a little off key-as he rocked Cian to sleep.

"Don't." Mickey said as he looked into the bedroom their son's shared, staring at the tufts of red hair sticking out from under Max's blankets to avoid making eye contact with Ian.

"We need money, Mick." Ian said, laying Cian in his crib.

"We'll find another way to get it, but please don't do it." Mickey begged, feeling slightly pathetic.

"Okay." Ian said, though Mickey wasn't sure if he should believe his husband or not. "You don't want me to dance? I won't; you're all I want in life, Mick, and if money's tight, then it is. We'll make it work." Ian promised, moving to wrap Mickey in his arms.

"We'll figure somethin' out." Mickey swore, resting his head on Ian's chest and sighing when Ian tightened his hold. Things were difficult, but Mickey and Ian could survive anything as long as they had one another; they would always have each other's back, even through the hardest of times.

"I love you." Ian swore, caressing Mickey's back as he dropped kisses all along Mickey's hairline.

"I love you, too." Mickey replied, moving to kiss Ian's lips. This was another struggle, but they had it; they had to.


	41. Staring

"He's hot, right?" Ian heard a woman whisper behind him as he walked through the grocery store with Mickey and the kids. Mickey was kneeling on the ground in front of Harlow to tie her shoe, Max was trying to decide between two boxes of cereal, and Ian was trying to keep a rather fussy Cian content until they finished their shopping for the week, which was not an easy task; Cian demanded every ounce of attention on him at all times.

"Fuckin' gorgeous; and he's good with kids!" Another woman whispered as Mickey stood up, totally unaware of the exchange happening behind his husband. Ian wasn't insecure-he knew he was a good looking man-but he couldn't tell if the women were talking about him or Mickey; it's not like either of them were hard on the eyes. "Oh God, Lindsay! Check out those blue eyes!" Mickey it was.

"Max, you know what you want, yet?" Mickey asked their son, placing a hand on the little boy's shoulder.

"Lucky Charms, Daddy." Max answered, standing on his tip-toes to reach the bright red box.

"I'd let him do whatever he wanted to me." The first woman whispered, making Ian's hackles rise; he was used to hearing people talk about Mickey's looks, but don't fucking think you can get his man! Ian smirked devilishly before walking over to Mickey with Cian in his arms, ready to show these bitches who Mickey belonged to.

"Hey, baby, can you take over with him for a little bit? He's gettin' antsy, again." Ian said, loud enough for the two gossiping women to hear him.

"You want Daddy, little man?" Mickey cooed, scooping Cian up and accepting the kiss Ian planted on his cheek.

"Harlow, stop runnin' or Papa's carryin' you." Ian instructed, picking his daughter up to stop her frantic running, smiling when he saw both bleached-blonde women blushing furiously; serves them right, staring at his fucking husband.

"Papa, I wanna walk!" Harlow whined dramatically as Ian balanced her on his hip.

"Then you need to listen to Papa." Mickey said, laying Cian-who, of course, calmed down after Mickey held him-back in his car seat that had been buckled into the front of the shopping cart. "Put your Lucky Charms in there, Chipmunk."

"Can we have Macaroni, tonight, Daddy?" Max asked his father as he put his cereal in the shopping cart. Ian knew Mickey would tell him yes; Max never really asked for anything and was always well-behaved. Mickey nodded, ruffling Max's hair lovingly as the family started walking, again. With both Mickey and Ian doing extra work to earn extra money-Mickey picking up a shifts at a bar in Dolton on Saturday and Sunday nights and Ian helping Jack's friend with some of his home repairs on Monday and Friday afternoons-it was just nice to be able to spend time with their kids, as well as each other.

"Who was starin' at me?" Mickey asked, sensing Ian's tension and noticing how closely Ian was standing to him.

"Soccer moms." Ian said bashfully. "I didn't like how they were talkin' about wantin' to screw you."

"Ain't like I'm gonna let 'em." Mickey scoffed, tickling Cian's chin.

"I know. Don't mean I gotta like it." Ian sighed, dropping a kiss on Mickey's temple. "My baby's just for me."

"Dork." Mickey snorted, watching Max as he checked a tomato the way Ian had taught him before bagging it along with several others and placing them in the shopping cart. "Last thing we needed. Come on, Chipmunk; time to head home."

 

"Sleep tight, Mouse." Mickey whispered as he laid Cian in his crib-which was still in his parents' bedroom, at the moment-ready to spend some time with Max and Harlow before they went to bed, themselves. "Woah! Hey, there, Ladybug!" Mickey exclaimed as he exited his and Ian's bedroom, only to have giggling toddler run into his leg.

"Hi, Daddy!" Harlow squealed, lifting her tiny arms over her head, her fiery red hair a complete mess around her round, smiling face.

"You runnin' from bath time?" Mickey asked his daughter as he plucked the girl up into his arms.

"Noooo." Harlow laughed, taking Mickey's face in her small hands.

"Yeeeees." Ian corrected, walking down the stairs in a damp, white t-shirt that Harlow had clearly splashed as her other father filled the bathtub for her. Mickey couldn't help licking his lips as he stared at his husband's shirt clinging to his muscular chest. "She wanted to help Papa fill the tub, then she splashed Papa and ran off laughing." Ian was all smiles as he approached his husband and daughter, tickling the girl's chubby stomach when he reached two of his favorite people.

"Don' wanna bath!" Harlow whined, turning Mickey's face to force him to look into her bright blue eyes that matched his own perfectly.

"Sorry, baby girl; bubby takes a bath, Daddy takes a bath, Papa takes a bath, Cian takes a bath, and you have to take a bath, too." Mickey said, ruffling Harlow's hair as he passed her back to Ian. "Max in his room?"

"Yeah, he wanted to read one of his books." Ian replied, leading his husband up the stairs as he carried their daughter to the children's bathroom. Mickey smiled when he spotted Max sitting in the room he would soon share with his brother, his legs crossed like a pretzel as he read a little book aloud to Jake and Hyde.

"But the wild things cried "Oh please don't go-we'll eat you up-we love you so!" And Max said "No!"" Max read, turning his head when he realized someone-aside from his two canine companions-was watching him. "Hi, Daddy." Max greeted, smiling up at his father, his two missing teeth making the whole thing so much cuter.

"Hey, Chipmunk, you're doin' good." Mickey complimented, stepping into the room and moving to sit on Max's side of it with the little boy. He felt like he'd been neglecting his son in recent weeks, considering he was working days every weekday and nights on weekends, so he was glad he was getting to spend some time with his little Chipmunk.

"Did you get my name from this?" Max asked, tapping the cover of his beloved book.

"No, bud, I got your name from a very nice nurse when I had you." Mickey explained, wrapping his arm around his son's shoulders lovingly.

"Oh." Max said, not at all perturbed. "I like this book, Daddy; the monsters are cool."

"I liked it when I was little, too." Mickey replied with a sweet smile, kissing Max's cheek when the boy yawned. "Time for bed, little man."

"Okay. Come on, Hyde." Max called out through another yawn, crawling into his bed and making space for his best friend, who-of course-joined him. "Goodnight, Daddy." Max murmured, curling up in his black and blue plaid covers-something he had decided he wanted not too long ago-with his arms around Hyde.

"Goodnight, Max. I love you." Mickey used to feel strange telling his son he loved him-mainly due to the boy not being able to reply, at first-but he knew he never wanted Max to live the way he had as a child; without having a parent's love in his life. So, he made sure he told Max, Harlow, and Cian he loved them every day.

"I love, you, too." Max managed as his eyes drifted closed and he fell asleep. Working as much as he had been recently was difficult, but-as he watched his son sleeping comfortably-Mickey knew he'd do so for as long as it takes; he'd do anything and everything for his three beautiful children.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Where The Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak is one of the cutest children's books, ever, and-of course-Max needed to read it! Leave me some comments to let me know what you thought of this chapter. Much love!


	42. Tired

Fiona had noticed a very slight physical change in Mickey; something she had originally attributed to losing the baby weight from carrying Cian and being exhausted from raising a seven year-old, a two year-old, and a newborn, but now she wasn't so sure. She remembered Lip telling her about Mickey dealing with an eating disorder shortly before Harlow turned one, and she was hoping-she hoped so fucking much-that he wasn't starving himself, again, because he'd gained weight while he was pregnant with Cian. "Coffee shop up the street had some of those Apple cinnamon muffins you like; thought you'd like one." Fiona said, handing Mickey a huge fucking muffin and a large coffee.

"Thanks." Mickey said, taking a bite of the muffin and a sip of his coffee. "Didn't have to bring me breakfast; Ian cooked this morning."

"You looked like you could use it." Fiona replied with a shrug, taking a sip of her own coffee. This had become a ritual for the two of them; they alternated mornings on who bought coffee, and they'd sit in Mickey's office while they drank their morning coffee and went over everything from stock, to schedules, to payroll. It could get a little boring talking about all of these things, but Fiona enjoyed getting to spend her mornings with her brother-in-law and friend. "You doin' okay, sweetie?"

"Mondays are just hard; work til 2 on Sunday and then I'm in here by eight." Mickey yawned, shaking his head as he took another drink of coffee. Now Fiona understood; Mickey was running himself ragged and it was starting to show in his physicality.

"Have you thought about lookin' for another job? Not as a third job or anythin', but... You need somethin' where you don't gotta work a second job." Fiona said, feeling incredibly sorry for her brother and brother-in-law; she remembered what it was like to try and stretch every dollar when you're raising kids.

"Yeah... Actually, I uhm... I found a job workin' construction; I'd be makin' twice what I am, here." Mickey said awkwardly, wishing this wasn't how he was telling his sister-in-law he was leaving the restaurant that had brought them together.

"When do you start?" Fiona asked, feeling sad that Mickey was leaving, but proud that he'd found a better job that would give him the capability to provide for his children better.

"Two weeks." Mickey answered, taking another bite of his muffin. "Don't wanna leave, but I gotta."

"I get it, sweetie." Fiona assured Mickey, reaching over to squeeze his hand. "You know who's replacin' you?"

"You." Mickey said simply, having already suggested to the owner that Fiona take over as manager when he left for his new job.

"Really?" Fiona asked, eyes wide as she stared at Mickey, wondering if he was serious.

"Owner already approved it." Mickey said, grunting in discomfort when Fiona launched herself at him and pulled him into a far too tight hug. "Still nursin'." Mickey managed to gasp out, letting Fiona know his chest was tender.

"Sorry!" Fiona gasped, releasing Mickey, gently patting his cheek. "You're gonna do great, Mick."

"Thanks, Fi." Mickey said, pulling the brunette woman into a gentler hug. He would miss working with Fiona everyday, but he knew he would still get to see his friend often.

 

"So you're gonna quit the second job, now?" Sue asked her partner as they drove back to the dispatch garage.

"Yeah; Mick's gonna be makin' enough that we can both stick to one job." Ian said, trying not to yawn as he spoke. Being the only one home with Cian at night meant he had no one to switch off with during late nights, and he was exhausted after a night with a fussy, crying infant. "Cian's been missin' Mickey at night."

"I bet; Harlow might be your brat, but Max and Cian are Daddy's boys." Sue giggled, thinking back to how many times she'd seen Max trying to hang off Mickey's waist while he was holding Harlow or Cian, or Cian crying until he was in Mickey's arms.

"They love their Daddy." Ian agreed, smiling through his exhaustion. He knew his sons loved him, but they would always be closer to Mickey, and Ian was fine with that.

"How are Max and Harlow dealin' with you guys workin' so much?" Sue asked, knowing Harlow didn't like being away from her parents.

"Max understands, but Harlow don't like it. I think all three of 'em are gonna be happier once we're home more." Ian said, feeling horrid that he'd spent so much time away from his children, recently, but knowing it was unavoidable when they needed more money  _for_ his children.

"It gets easier, hon." Sue promised as she parked the rig.

"I hope you're right." Ian sighed, praying that Sue was right and they could finally start enjoying time with their children instead of spending all of their time working.

 

"Max, Harlow, no runnin' in the house!" Mickey called towards the living room as he cooked dinner, having seen Max chasing Harlow around the living room with Jake and Hyde following them.

"Sorry, Daddy!" Both children yelled in unison, stopping in their tracks and turning around to play with their dogs. Ian wouldn't be home for another two hours, and-thankfully-Cian was sleeping, so Mickey only had to try and keep his two eldest children under control until they sat down for dinner.

"It's okay. Go wash your hands, Chipmunk. Ladybug, come 'ere and Daddy'll help you wash your hands." Mickey instructed, lifting his daughter up to the sink when she rushed into the kitchen. Mickey may feel stressed out most days, but on nights like this-nights when he was home with his children and got to have dinner with them-he felt better than he would have ever expected. He loved these three little people more than he loved anyone-even his husband-and would do anything to keep them happy, healthy, and to make them feel loved.

"What're we havin', Daddy?" Max asked as he climbed into his chair and Mickey sat Harlow in her booster seat.

"Chicken noodles, baby." Mickey replied, placing some chicken alfredo on each of his children's plates. Max loved any kind of pasta, so he instantly dug in, dancing happily in his chair. Harlow-on the other hand-picked around the pasta to eat her chicken and broccoli happily.

"I'm home!" Ian yelled as he entered the house, surprising Mickey and both of the children sitting at the table; Mickey wasn't expecting Ian to make it home before Max and Harlow went to bed.

"What're you doin' home so early?" Mickey asked as Ian leaned over to kiss his cheek.

"We finished the bathroom so Paul let everyone leave." Ian explained, kissing both children. "Plus, I wanted to see my babies." Mickey smiled happily as Ian sat down next to Max, allowing the little boy to fill him in on his day at school. Yeah, he loved nights at home with his family.


	43. My Troubled Life

When Chris Thompson was released from county jail after fifteen months, he was still pissed off at the Gallaghers; they were the reason he'd just spent over a year behind bars, after all. After months of trying to decide what he'd do to get his revenge, he had finally decided just days before his release. Now he just had to set his plan into motion.

 

"Max, sit down while you're eating." Ian instructed as he walked to answer the front door. "Can I help you?" Ian asked the woman standing on the other side politely.

"Is this the Gallagher residence?" The woman asked, looking around Ian into the house where Max was seated at the small Paw Patrol table set in the living room eating his lunch.

"Yes it is." Ian answered, stopping Hyde when he tried to dart out the door.

"Mister Gallagher, my name is Amelia Parker, and I'm with the Department of Family Services. May I come in?" Ian nodded, too shocked to verbally respond. He stepped aside and allowed Amelia to enter the house. "Hi,  I'm Amelia. What's your name?" Amelia asked Max, crouching down next to him.

"Max." Max responded, taking a bite of one of his apple slices.

"Hi, Max. Can I ask you some questions?" Max nodded as the door opened and Mickey entered the house with Harlow holding his right hand and Cian's car seat in his left.

"Who's that?" Mickey asked, pecking Ian's lips before setting the car seat down and taking Cian out.

"DFS." Ian said numbly, still wondering why the Department of Family Services would be at their house.

"Max, what time do you go to bed?" Amelia asked Max, watching the boy closely as he nibbled on his apple slices.

"Eight." Max answered, honestly. "Daddy and Papa say I gotta get enough sleep." Ian and Mickey were both too nervous to even pay attention to what Max was saying, but both smiled at the boy when he looked over at them with an adorably gap-toothed smile. "Here, sissy." Max said, handing his sister her favorite doll, which was laying on top of the toy box at his side.

"Thank you!" Harlow chirped, scurrying off to play with her doll.

"Do Daddy and Papa ever get mad at you, Max?" Amelia asked the boy, causing Ian to wish he could speak up and say something to the woman without it looking bad for them.

"No, Daddy and Papa never get mad at us." Max answered, staring at the woman as if she had two heads.

"Us?" Amelia asked, seemingly wanting Max to clarify.

"Me, Harlow-my sissy-and Cian; he's still a baby." Max explained, turning to watch his sister as she showed Jake and Hyde her doll.

"Have your Daddy and Papa ever left you home alone?" Amelia asked the small boy. Ian could see Mickey becoming irritated with this woman's line of questioning.

"No? If Daddy and Papa gotta leave my Uncle Carl or Aunt Debbie watch us; Uncle Lip, Uncle Iggy, Uncle Liam, Aunt Mandy, and Aunt Fiona live in Chicago. Aunt Debbie does, too, but Franny is my best friend so Aunt Debbie and Franny come over a lot." Max told Amelia, standing up to take his-now empty-plate into the kitchen.

"Papa's got that, baby boy; you talk to Amelia." Ian said, stepping around the couch to take the plastic plate.

"Thank you, Papa." Max said, sweetly.

"You're welcome, Chipmunk." Ian replied, lovingly ruffling Max's hair before walking towards the kitchen.

"Papa! I have juice, please?" Harlow called into the kitchen, climbing onto the couch so she could reach for Mickey's hand while the man rocked a fussy Cian.

"Here you go, Ladybug." Ian said, passing Harlow her a sparkly pink ladybug lidded tumbler with apple juice in it.

"Thank you, Papa!" Harlow exclaimed, kissing Ian's cheek with a little giggle.

"You're welcome." Ian said, turning back to where his son was essentially being interrogated.

"Have you ever felt scarred of your Daddy or Papa?" Amelia asked, causing Max to furrow his eyebrows.

"No? Daddy and Papa are nice." Max said simply, clearly not understanding these questions. "They take care of me, help me with my homework, make sure I eat my vegetables, and cuddle with me when I have nightmares." Max told Amelia with all the certainty an eight-year-old boy was capable of.

"May I speak to the two of you?" Amelia asked, standing up and looking around at the clean living room surrounding her as she walked over to the two men standing near the stairs, one of whom was holding a sleeping infant.

"Miss Parker, with all due respect, I'm not sure why DFS would come here; our kids are healthy, always clean, well cared for, and have never been put in any danger by my husband or I." Ian said as nicely as he was capable of, but he was honestly furious; who the hell would have called the Department of Family Services on himself and Mickey, and what would they even have said?

"You were reported for child endangerment and neglect, Mister Gallagher." Amelia said, seemingly confused as to why these very caring parents were reported for such atrocities.

"Daddy?" Harlow whispered, gently pulling on Mickey's pant leg. "Gotta potty."

"Hold Mouse for me?" Mickey asked, passing Cian off to Ian when the redhead nodded before walking Harlow to the bathroom.

"Miss Parker, you can check the whole house if you need to, but you've talked to Max; our kids are in no danger." Ian swore, looking down at where Cian had buried his face against his father's chest.

"How often do you and your husband leave your children with family members?" Amelia asked Ian, watching as he adjusted the baby in his arms.

"When we work; we try to only work during the school day so we can see Max when he's home, and we have a day-time babysitter for Harlow and Cian, but Max hasn't been with her in over a year because we got our shifts switched around." Ian informed the woman. "She's a woman in her forties who doesn't work; Anne Zachary."

"I'll have to check in with Miss Zachary-see if she has any concerns regarding Harlow or Cian-and then check back in with the two of you. Have a nice evening, Mister Gallagher." With that, Amelia Parker was gone and Ian was left feeling broken and praying to a God he wasn't sure he believed in that nothing would take their children away.

 

"We're not gonna lose the kids, Ian." Mickey assured Ian as he bathed Cian, the little boy's chubby hands repeatedly reaching up to touch Mickey's tattooed fingers.

"There's no reason, buy what if we do?" Ian asked, reaching out to allow Cian to hold his finger. "We can't lose our kids, Mick."

"Like you said, there's no reason; they're healthy, they're happy, they're clean and we never laid a hand on any of them. Fuck, if Terry never lost custody of us when I was a kid, we're not gonna lose ours." Mickey said with a huge amount of certainty. "We're gonna figure out who called DFS, and keep our kids safe and happy. We got this, Ian." Ian trusted his husband, but he wasn't sure how they could manage this.


	44. Watching Me

Ian could feel eyes on him as he stepped out of his car outside Max's school, which caused a sickening churning in his stomach; was the Department of Family Services really  _watching them_ pick up their son from school? Ian didn't have a chance to look for the source of the eyes on him, because the dismissal bell rang and students started running out. "Hi, Papa!" Max called as he ran towards Ian, his little Batman backpack bouncing against his back as he moved.

"Hey, Chipmunk." Ian said with a smile, picking Max up when he finally reached his father. "Did you have a good day at school?" Ian asked, propping Max on his hip so he could open the back, driver side door for his son. Max felt like he was grown up since he'd recently reached the weight-just barely, at forty pounds-that he no longer needed to sit in a booster seat, and he loved being able to buckle his own seatbelt.

"We learned about Multi... Multi..." Max tried, unable to remember what they had learned in school today as buckled himself in.

"Multiplication?" Ian supplied, closing Max's door and climbing into the driver's seat.

"Yeah! Did you know if you multiply anything by zero it's zero?" Max asked, watching Ian as he buckled his own seatbelt.

"I did. That's pretty cool, isn't it?" Ian asked his son, loving how much Max enjoyed learning new things.

"Yeah! Miss Lewis said we're gonna learn how to multiply by one, tomorrow." Max informed his father as they started the drive home. Ian just smiled, no longer caring if the Department of Family Services were watching them; he and Mickey were good fucking parents, who had three happy, amazing kids.

 

Mickey was a little confused when he pulled up in front of Anne Zachary's house, seeing a shiny, white sedan in the driveway that he knew wasn't Anne's-considering the woman drove an old SUV, her husband drove an F150, and her daughter drove one of those crossover things that Mickey just found fucking weird-but he wasn't too concerned. "Hi, Mickey." Anne said, a smile on her lovely, dark complected face as she answered the door. Mickey liked the pretty, older woman, and really appreciated how good she was with his children. "Can I talk to you for a second before you take the kids home?" Mickey nodded as he stepped into the house, allowing Anne to lead him into the kitchen.

"What's goin' on, Anne?" Mickey asked, concerned when his children's babysitter pulled him aside. Anne signed, brushing a dark curl away from her face with a distressed look in her wide, chocolate brown eyes.

"A woman from DFS is here; she's been asking if I "have any concerns" about Harlow and Cian. Of course I told her "no" because I know you and Ian-Hell, I've been watching Harlow since you went back to work after she was born-but she doesn't seem to believe me." Anne explained, an apologetic look on her face. "I know your kids have great parents, and I know you've never hurt those babies, but someone thinks you have."

"Yeah, someone came to the house. The kids in the living room? I sorta just wanna take the kids home." Mickey said, just wanting to be close to his babies.

"Yeah; Millie's with them." Anne said with a nod, pulling Mickey into a hug. "Whoever did this? They don't know how much you guys love those kids."

"Thanks, Anne." Mickey whispered, briefly hugging her back before walking into the living room where Anne's twenty year-old daughter-Millie-was seated with Amelia Fucking Parker, Harlow-who was coloring a picture with Millie-and Cian, babbling from his swing. "Hey, Ladybug. You have fun with Miss Anne and Miss Millie, today?" Mickey asked, kneeling down next to his daughter.

"Yes. We color and we play outside." Harlow told Mickey as she moved to hug him.

"Wow! Sounds like a good day. Did you take your nap?" Mickey asked, brushing hair out of Harlow's face.

"Yes." Harlow answered, smiling her adorable, dimpled smile up at her father. "No pee!"

"Good job!" Mickey exclaimed, high fiving his daughter. She was doing very well with potty training, but she'd still occasionally have an accident when she'd sleep, which meant she always wore pull-ups to bed. "Tell Papa when we get home; he'll put a sticker on your chart." Mickey-once again-wondered how the fuck this was his life; he was proud of someone not pissing their pants, and had a fucking "potty chart" hanging in his house!

"Okay! Bye bye, Miss Mille! Bye bye Miss Anne!" Harlow called, walking over to the swing her brother was seated in, clearly ready to get her sticker.

"Bye, Harlow. She's a riot, Mick; funniest kid I've ever met." Millie said, watching Mickey was a fond, adoring look as he scooped Cian up and kissed his little cheek.

"Gets that from Ian." Mickey chuckled, adjusting Cian in his arms. "Do you have any questions, Miss Parker?" Mickey asked as a sort of challenge.

"No. Have a nice day, Mister Gallagher." Amelia said, brushing her-clearly artifically colored-red hair behind her ear.

"Daddy's name Mickey." Harlow informed Amelia.

"Have a nice day, Mickey." Amelia said, standing up to exit the house.

 

"The fuckin' bitch was at Anne's house! For fuck's sake, our kids are  _fine!"_ Mickey shouted as he and Ian sat at the kitchen table after all three of their children were asleep.

"I'm tellin' you, Mick, someone was fuckin' watching me pick Max up from school." Ian said, looking down at his pale hands.

"I'm gonna kill the motherfucker who started this shit." Mickey swore, clenching his fists so tightly his nails were drawing blood from his palms.

"For once? I'm not gonna talk you out of it; this shit's gotta end." Ian said, finally looking up at Mickey. "Who the fuck would do this? Ronnie?"

"Still locked up; he's got three more years." Mickey said, racking his brain for anyone they might have pissed off enough that they'd turn them into DFS. "That asshole Mari was married to; Chris?" Mickey asked, thinking he was the only other possible candidate.

"Fuck!' Ian exclaimed, knowing his husband had to be right. "What are we gonna do?"

"I got this." Mickey said, standing up and dialing his phone, a plan clearly forming in that beautiful head of his. For once, Ian hoped it was violent; he'd cover for Mickey, and Chris would get what was coming to him.


	45. The Last Straw

Mickey wanted to find Chris Thompson and ring his fucking neck once he and Ian realized he was the one who had reported them to the Department of Family Services, saying they had put their children in danger. He had called Iggy and his cousins, Tony and Jamie-who had become a good support system to him after their father's arrest-to have them look for Chris; he was going to get back at this asshole for putting Ian and himself through this shit. "What're you gonna do to him?" Iggy asks his brother as they sat on Mickey and Ian's back porch with cigarettes in their hands.

"Ideally I'd fuckin' kill his ass, but I'm not gonna risk goin' to prison and missing out on my kids growin' up." Mickey replied, looking out at the swing set at the back of the yard. He didn't want to lose a second with the children who had been playing on that very swing set just hours before.

"Want me and the boys to handle this piece of shit? Could probably get Ian's brother-the cop, not that asshole who knocked Mandy up-to help." Iggy offered, taking a long drag of his cigarette.

"Don't want you guys gettin' locked up, either. And helpin' you dumbasses could lose Carl his job." Mickey reasoned, still trying to think of something to do now that he knew where Chris Thompson was living.

"You don't live on the Southside, anymore; maybe try handlin' this like the suburban prick you are, now." Iggy joked, though Mickey thought that handling this in a more legal manner might not be the worst idea. Hell, he and Ian had proof that Chris had caused their son bodily harm. The problem was, however, that going about it in a legal manner might not prove that DFS has no need to be concerned for their children.

"Shit! Why the fuck is this shit happening?" Mickey asked, stubbing his cigarette out in the ashtray sitting between his brother and himself.

"'Cause there's always gonna be assholes like Terry out there." Iggy said, attempting-in his own, shitty way-to comfort Mickey. Mickey didn't think his brother was aware of just how right he was.

 

"You been to sleep, yet?" Mickey asked Ian as he sat up in their bed upon hearing Cian crying, only to find Ian already picking the little boy up.

"On and off." Ian answered as he checked Cian's diaper. "Can't really sleep right now; too much on my mind." Normally, Mickey would be concerned that his husband was Manic, but he understood; with everything going on, neither of them had let their guard down enough to rest peacefully since Amelia Parker's first visit. "What time is it?"

"2:30; about time for him to eat, again." Mickey said, signaling for Ian to pass Cian to him.

"I can just fix him a bottle, baby; you gotta work in a few hours, and I don't really want you on a construction site when you can barely keep your eyes open." Ian said, pecking Mickey's cheek and exiting the bedroom without giving Mickey a chance to argue before walking to the kitchen and setting Cian in his favorite swing so he had both hands to fix the boy his bottle. "Jake, go lay down, boy." Ian said when the dog started barking and growling, seemingly out of nowhere.

"The Hell's wrong with Jake?" Mickey asked as he stepped out of the bedroom, looking at where the German Shepherd was growling at the front door. "Jake, come 'ere." Mickey said, kneeling down and waiting for the dog to come to him, but Jake stayed at the door. "Jake-" Mickey was cut off by a brick flying through the front window and connecting with Jake's hip. The sound of smashing glass and Jake's yelp caused Cian to start crying hysterically from his swing, causing both parents to jump to action.

"Get Cian; I'm gonna see who the fuck's out there." Mickey ordered, running out of the house just as a car sped away, leaving Mickey alone until Ian and one of the family's neighbors-a sweet elderly man named Sal who lived alone in the house next door after his wife's death earlier that year-ran outside to see what had happened.

"You boys okay?" Sal asked, taking in Mickey's clearly disheveled appearance and the whining infant in Ian's arms.

"Someone threw a brick through the window." Ian said, turning to look at the shattered glass still left in the frame. "Hit Jake with it."

"He okay?" Sal asked, looking over at the young couple's house. Sal was actually the one who had told Ian about Jake being available for adoption, and had owned Jake's father for the past six years.

"Not sure; I was too worried about Mick when I heard the car to check." Ian sheepishly admitted.

"You two need some help?" Sal offered, looking down at his own German Shepard-who neither Gallagher men had noticed-standing loyally next to his master.

"Gonna go call the cops and get that glass cleaned up." Ian said quietly, passing Cian to Mickey before walking back inside.

"He okay?" Sal asked Mickey once Ian had reentered the house.

"Just been a rough couple of weeks. Sorry this shit woke you up, Sal." Mickey apologized, feeling guilty that Sal was awake so late-or early, he supposed-because someone had decided to toss a brick through his window.

"It's not a problem, kid. You two let me know if you need anything, got it?" Sal ordered gently, patting his thigh to let Wayne-his canine friend-know they were leaving and walking away.

"Ian?" Mickey tentatively called as he walked back into the house, finding his husband sitting on the floor, examining the brick. "What's up?"

"He wrote something on it." Ian said, quietly, taking Cian back so Mickey could look at the brick.

_"ALL FAGGOTS BURN!"_

Mickey looked up at his husband, seeing the distressed look on Ian's face. "Cops should be here, soon." Ian said numbly.

"Ian, this shit ain't your fault." Mickey said, standing up and making his way over to Jake. "Not like you told the fucker to call DFS or throw a fuckin' brick through our window."

"He told our son he was goin' to hell, busted his head open, tried to hit you when you were pregnant, called DFS on us, and then pulled this shit." Ian seethed, picking up the bottle he'd set aside and allowing Cian to eat.

"And it's all on him." Mickey said, checking Jake's hip, glad that the dog didn't even flinch. "Think he's okay." Mickey said-mostly to himself-as he thought that Ian had a point; this shit was the last fucking straw.


	46. This Ends Now

"Chris, I'm telling you, they're good parents; the kids aren't afraid, they're healthy, and they've got babysitters they trust who are the only ones they ever leave their kids with." Amelia told her brother, watching as he tossed back another shot of whiskey.

"You sayin' you believe those fags more than your own brother?" Chris asked, glaring at his younger sister.

"Chris, I love you, but Mickey and Ian Gallagher aren't a threat to their kids." Amelia said, suddenly feeling guilty for the lengths she went to to prove her brother wasn't lying. A pounding on the door snapped both siblings back to reality, and-considering her brother was drunk as fuck-Amelia answered the door. "Can I help you, gentlemen?"

"You're the Socal Services chick." The blond man said, clearly unhappy to see Amelia. "Damn, we shoulda figured this out!"

"Where is he?" The brunette man asked, looking around Amelia.

"Iggy! Jamie! Back down!" Amelia knew that voice; Mickey Gallagher. "You dating him,  _miss Parker?"_ Mickey asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Mister Gallagher, I-" Mickey cut Amelia off with a shake of his head.

"Save it; I texted Ian the second I heard him say who you were. He's reporting you, as we speak." Mickey said with a snarl. "You know all the shit he put us through? What he did to my son? It's why he was locked up!"

"You fuckers were the ones who fuckin' attacked  _me!"_ Chris roared, standing up and launched himself at Mickey, who quickly got the upper hand. Mickey threw several punches at Chris' jaw, reveling in the sickening crack of bone hitting bone. "Fuckin' queer!" Chris shouted when he-once again-got the upper hand on Mickey, wrapping one hand around the brunette's throat as he punched any inch of his face he could and kneed his stomach hard.

"Oh fuck no." Iggy said, pulling Chris off Mickey as Jamie mumbled into the phone and Amelia stood silently off to the side, regretting everything she'd done over the past two weeks to help her brother.

"Let me fuckin' go! He's fuckin' worthless!" Chris growled, fighting against Iggy's hold.

"Think that's you." Iggy replied, having no problem keeping Chris still.

"Dolton PD!" A man yelled, making Iggy and Jamie smirk as Jamie pulled Mickey off the ground. Amelia knew Chris was a little troubled, but she never imagined he'd be this bad.

 

"We've got a meeting with Parker's supervisor, tomorrow." Ian informed Mickey as he gently cleaned the cuts on the shorter man's face. "Kid's are gonna ask what happened to your face."

"Didn't think he'd have the balls to hit me with Iggy and Jamie standin' there; that's why I took 'em with me." Mickey winced, hating the burn of the rubbing alcohol on his sore cheek. "Just wanted to let him know we knew all this shit was him-scare him off-but he was fuckin' drunk and didn't give a shit."

"Just glad you're mostly okay; good thing he didn't get that close when you were pregnant with Cian." Ian said, examining the split in the skin under Mickey's left eye-which was already turning purple-with a frown. "Wish Carl would've sent me pictures so I knew what to expect; asshole did some major damage to that pretty face."

"Fuck you." Mickey laughed, groaning towards the end when his ribs protested. "You ever feel like that Southside kid you used to be needs to be let out?"

"Honestly? No; I love where my life is, now, and I don't wanna change a damn thing about it." Ian said, passing Mickey an ice pack. 'Hold it on your eye."

"Thanks. But... I don't know, man; I love what we got together-what we got with our kids-but when I was knockin' the shit outta Chris, today? The old Mickey-that side I keep locked up-was lovin' it." Mickey admitted, holding the ice pack to his black eye.

"Adrenaline; you felt good during the fight 'cause endorphins were going wild in you." Ian explained. "Look, I get loving an adrenaline rush, but we're grown ups, now; we can't just go around starting fights."

"I know. Feels like I'm not even Mickey, anymore, though." Ian pulled the ice pack away from Mickey's eye and force him to look into those gorgeous fucking green eyes Ian possessed.

"You're still Mickey, you're just the grown up version who cares more about his kids than getting an adrenaline rush from hitting someone. I loved the Mickey who would punch my fuckin' lights out for trying to kiss him, but I love this Mickey just as much, and I can kiss this Mickey any time I want." Ian whispered, leaning in to connect their lips in a soft kiss, mindful of Mickey's busted bottom lip. "We'll start goin' to the gym, together, or something; try boxing so you can let the old Mickey out in a way that won't risk you getting arrested."

"We can do that." Mickey said with a slight nod, not wanting to look away from the man who loved both sides of him.

 

"Are you alright, Mister Gallagher?" Wendy Stephens-Amelia Parker's supervisor-asked Mickey as he and Ian sat down across from her.

"Chris Thompson-the guy Amelia was helping-attacked Mickey when he went to confront him about throwing a brick with "All Faggots Burn" written on it through our front window." Ian said, seeing that Mickey was in a lot of pain.

"I am truly sorry about what Amelia has put the two of you through. I cannot imagine what would drive Amelia to not only to interview a child in such a cold manner that she actually made him uncomfortable, but to fallow the two of you." Wendy apologized, reaching into her desk drawer and taking out a bottle of aspirin and an unopened bottle of water. "I get Migraines." She explained before passing both to Mickey.

"So does our oldest son." Mickey said before taking two aspirin with a drink of water and passing the pill bottle back to Wendy. "Thank you."

"Nothing from Amelia's initial visit suggests that any further actions were needed." Wendy informed the men, looking back down at the file on her desk. "The house was clean, your son, Max, was happy and well-adjusted, it says he was eating lunch and that the food looked healthy, he felt no fear when it came to either of you, all three children were clean... This is all perfect." Wendy said in disbelief, looking back up at the two men. "I have to ask, did you have any idea you were expecting a home visit?"

"Not at all." Ian answered honestly.

"And this is always how your house is?" Wendy asked, making notes in the file.

"We'll have toys on the floor if Max and Harlow-our daughter-have been playing, but they always put them away when they're done." Mickey replied.

"Would you two be uncomfortable if I called Amelia in?" Wendy hesitantly asked the couple.

"No; we'd like to know why this happened." Ian said, taking Mickey's hand in his own.

"Amelia, I need to speak to you in my office." Wendy said into the phone she had setting on her desk, hanging up right afterwards and turning back to Ian and Mickey. "So Max has migraines, too?"

"We found out last year after we got worried when he was getting a lot of headaches." Mickey said, feeling a bit nervous.

"Not an interview; just making small talk until Amelia gets here." Wendy assured them. "Try putting Lavender oil in his bath water; it works wonders."

"We'll have to try that." Ian replied with a kind smile. "We've tried just about everything his Neurologist could think of; a little bit of caffeine, dark rooms, cool compresses, changing all of the light bulbs to ones with a softer, yellow light... Only thing that seems to help, so far, is the instant relief tabs the doctor prescribed."

"Poor little guy." Wendy sighed. "How old are your kids?"

"Max is eight, Harlow is almost three, and Cian is four months." Mickey answered, relaxing only slightly when he thought about his children.

"Beautiful names. Is Max his full name?" Wendy asked with a warm smile.

"No; Maxton." Ian said, looking at Mickey to see if the man was doing alright.

"That's so cute!" Wendy gushed. "Sorry, my husband and I are trying for a baby and we have no idea what to name them." Mickey noticed-for the first time-that Wendy was rather young; she was in her mid-thirties, at the oldest. She was also rather pretty; long, wavy, dark brown hair, eyes so dark brown they were nearly black, olive skin, and an adorably round face.

"It'll come to you. We had a boy and girl name picked out for Harlow and Cian, both." Ian told the woman, helpfully.

"Might have to try that when the time comes." Wendy said, turning to the door when someone knocked. "Come in, Amelia." She called. Amelia looked a little shell-shocked when she entered the room and saw Ian and Mickey sitting there, but neither man was in the mood to taunt her about being caught. "Sit down, Amelia."

"Misses Stephens-" Wendy held up a single, well manicured hand to silence Amelia.

"I want you to explain why you felt it was necessary to fallow the Gallaghers. Even if that  _was_ part of our normal practices, there was nothing from your initial visit that suggested the Gallagher children were in any danger." Wendy said, her lovely face now stern.

"I was informed by a reliable source that Mikhailo and Ian Gallagher were negligent parents." Amelia defended herself, turning to look at Ian. Since he was no longer in fear of losing his children, Ian noticed she looked a lot like Chris Thompson; the same large, hooked nose, narrow set to her eyes, same muddy brown color to her eyes, and even the same round-slightly amorphous-shape to her face. That was when it hit him.

"You're related to him." Ian said out loud, surprising both Wendy and Mickey.

"Excuse me?" Amelia asked, feigning innocence.

"Chris Thompson. You're related to him, somehow." Ian said, feeling sick to his stomach at the revolution.

"Amelia?" Wendy asked, prompting Amelia to answer.

"Chris Thompson is my older brother." Amelia admitted.

"And you took what he was saying as fact, despite evidence to the contrary." Wendy said, pursing her lips.

"Misses Stephens, Mister Gallagher has profanities tattooed on his hands." Amelia tried to defend herself with.

"That does not mean Mister Gallagher is a bad parent, Amelia." Wendy said, looking at Amelia as if this were the most obvious thing in the world. "You had no reason to take the actions you did against the Gallaghers." Wendy sighed and shook her head, clearly very upset. "You're fired, Amelia. Go clean out your desk."

 

"Carl said they're gonna need us to testify." Ian reluctantly told Mickey as they moved seamlessly around one another while they prepared dinner for their family. "He said the pictures police got were good enough that Chris should end up getting at least six years."

"Good; asshole deserves it." Mickey replied, stirring the spaghetti sauce on the stove.

"Daddy? Me and Sissy made you this." Max said, holding up a piece of blue construction paper folded like a card with a colorful drawing on the front. Mickey took the card, examining the drawing that had clearly been done by Harlow before opening the card to read the message written by Max.

_"Get well soon, Daddy! We love you!"_

Mickey smiled and kneeled down, hugging his son. "Thank you, Chipmunk." Mickey whispered, pecking the boy's dimpled cheek. He loved his family, and things were looking up now that Chris had been arrested, again, and Amelia was no longer a threat.

 


	47. A New Day, A New Beginning

"Look who's here!" Mandy called out as she walked into Mickey and Ian's house with her one-year-old daughter in her arms. "Say hi to Uncle Mickey and Uncle Ian, Ari!"

"Hi!" Arya exclaimed, waving her tiny hands at her uncles and cousins, all seated at the table having breakfast.

"Hey!" Ian said, standing up to hug his sister-in-law and niece. "What're you guys doin' here?"

"Lip's doin' something in Dolton and decided to drop me and Ari off, here, to see you guys." Mandy explained, passing Arya off to Ian. "Okay, I have free arms, gimme the Mouse!" Mandy demanded, rushing over to Mickey and gently taking Cian and his bottle into her arms. "Look at you, baby boy! You look just like Daddy and big brother!"

"Only got one little Ian look-a-like." Mickey commented, cutting up Harlow's waffle for her. "You want syrup, Ladybug?"

"No, Daddy." Harlow said with a shake of her head, popping a bite of her waffle into her mouth.

"You guys ate, yet?" Ian asked, taking his seat at the table next to Max with Arya in his lap.

"Yeah; Lip made everyone breakfast, this morning. I'm tellin' you, he's up to something." Mandy said, sitting down between Mickey and Ian.

"Your anniversary coming up or something?" Ian asked, passing the syrup bottle to Max.

"Thank you." Max said, pouring a small amount of the thick, sticky liquid onto his waffles.

"I don't think so... I can't even tell you when we got together, it sorta just... Happened." Mandy said, looking back down at Cian. "If it wasn't for those green eyes he'd look just like you, Mick."

"If Max had black hair and a few less freckles he'd look just like Mickey." Ian pointed out, looking at his son lovingly. "Your birthday's not until September, so it's not that." Ian said, passing Max a clean napkin.

"Valentine's day." Max chimed in, looking around at the adults. "Valentine's day is Friday; you're supposed to get people you love a present."

"How'd you get so smart?" Mickey asked the boy, amazed that he'd figured out what none of them could.

"School." Max said with a shrug, making Mandy, Ian, and Mickey all laugh.

"Okay, so maybe he's getting you something for Valentine's days." Ian supplied, wondering what his brother was planning.

 

"Come on, Aunt Mandy, it's a race; you gotta run faster!" Max shouted, running around the backyard as fast as his short legs would carry him.

"You're too fast, Max!" Mandy exclaimed, pretending she was running at full-speed.

"Hey, Pipsqueak! You gotta let Aunt Mandy win, sometimes!" Lip yelled, sauntering out the back door. "The Hell aren't they playin' inside?" 

"Harlow gets stir-crazy if she don't get to play outside for a little while everyday." Ian explained, fixing the hood on Cian's green hoodie so that the little bear ears where back on top of his head. "You're gonna be walkin' and playing in the yard with big brother and sister, soon, aren't you, mouse?"

"Hard to believe he's already six months old." Lip stated, looking out at his own daughter as she crawled around behind Mandy. "We're all grown up, man."

"Gonna tell me what you were doing?" Ian asked, turning Cian in his lap so he could watch his siblings and Aunt running around as his cousin sat in the grass laughing.

"I've got a plan. You just gotta trust that I'm not going to hurt her. Not again." Lip promised, glancing up at the door as Mickey walked out with Liam at his side. "Hey, Mick."

"Fuck off." Mickey replied coldly, walking onto the grass and scooping a giggling Harlow up, making the girl howl in hysterical laughter.

"It's been over a year! Is he seriously still pissed at me?" Lip asked, looking at his brother for some sort of answer.

"You know, it took me days to get him to explain what he was talking about that night. But after he did? I would understand if he never forgave you." Ian said, looking down at his infant son, who had become very interested in Ian's long fingers.

"Tell me." Lip said once Liam-still as quiet as ever-walked off the porch and placed Arya-who had crawled her way over to the swing set-in the baby swing to push her. Ian sighed, but didn't seem like he was going to withhold information from Lip.

"After Mandy moved to Indiana with Kenyatta, she broke up with the asshole. Mick said he was so fuckin' relieved when she called to tell him, but then she mentioned a new boyfriend-some asshole frat guy named Chad-and he started to worry she was just moving from one abusive prick to another, but Mandy said she was happy, so he let it go. About three months later, he got worried when she didn't call him for a few days, so he kept texting her for a whole day sayin' shit like "where the fuck are you?" and "fuckin' call me, Mandy, I'm worried about you" and then the last one was "I love you, Mandy. Just call me, okay?" I guess Chad saw 'em and spent the better part of the day beating the living shit outta her; guess he thought she was cheating or some shit. He got a call from some hospital just outside Indianapolis saying Mandy had him down as an emergency contact and that he needed to get there... He was four months pregnant with Max, but he still drove all the way to Indiana to make sure his sister was okay; she wasn't.

"She was unconscious, they'd stitched her head closed, four of her ribs, her left arm, and three fingers on her right hand were all broken, and they were checking her out to make sure one of her broken ribs didn't penetrate a lung. When Mandy was conscious, again, she told Mickey what happened and said she was gonna save up and move back home. He tried to convince her to just come stay with him, but she said she'd be fine for a few months. She moved back four days after Max was born, and refused to ever talk about it, again." Ian relayed, making Lip feel about two inches Tall.

"I'd never hit her, Ian." Lip promised his younger brother, glancing at the strong, beautiful woman he loved as she picked up their daughter and kissed her tiny cheek.

"No; you hurt her emotionally, not physically. Mickey's been worried about her ending up with another guy like that for eight years." Ian said, standing up with a yawning Cian in his arms. "Gotta lay him down." Lip fallowed Ian inside, needing a little privacy to tell Ian his plan in secret.

"I'm gonna ask Mandy to marry me on Friday... I need you and Mickey to help." Lip confided in the redheaded man. "I have no idea how to do it."

"Not exactly the best person to ask about that, man; I asked Mickey when we found out Terry was out of prison. As much as I love my husband, we got married when we did to protect him and to keep Terry from finding him or Max." Ian admitted quietly as he changed Cian's diaper and laid him in his crib-which had finally been moved to the bedroom he was sharing with Max-trying not to startle the baby who had already fallen asleep.

"I have a plan-sort of-but I need some help from the family." Lip said before launching into the details he had planned out and what parts each member of their family would need to play.


	48. I Think I Wanna Marry You

"Alright, Max, you remember what you're supposed to do?" Ian asked his eldest son as he fixed breakfast early in the morning on Valentine's day while Max and Harlow sat the kitchen table playing with Legos and Cian sat in his blue Bumbo seat, shaking his green and grey plush elephant rattle.

"Go get Daddy up and tell him you need help." Max said, having been told the night before what part he was going to play in Ian's Valentine's day surprise for Mickey.

"Good job, bud." Ian praised as he piled pancakes onto a plate. "Okay, Ladybug, let's wash your hands. Chipmunk? Can you go wake Daddy up?" Both of the older Gallagher children nodded and hopped out if their seats, Harlow walking over to Ian and Max walking to Ian and Mickey's bedroom.

"What kind of pancakes we havin', Papa?" Harlow asked as Ian held her up to the kitchen sink so the little girl could wash her hands for breakfast.

"Banana Chocolate chip." Ian informed her, trying not to get splashed when Harlow started dancing and waving her little arms in excitement.

"She what you needed help with?" Mickey tiredly asked, rubbing his eyes with his free hand as Max held on to the other.

"Nah, she just got excited when I told her what we're having for breakfast." Ian said, setting Harlow down and moving to kiss his husband. "Happy Valentine's day, baby."

"Happy Valentine's day." Mickey hummed. "You really have Max wake me up for breakfast?"

"Nope. I had him wake you up so I could give you your present before we eat." Ian informed Mickey, picking up an envelope off the table, and passing it to the man.

"A card? You woke me up early for a fuckin' Valentine's day card?" Mickey asked, feeling rather annoyed that Ian would wake him up for some cheesy fucking card.

"Just open it, asswipe." Ian demanded, serving Max and Harlow each a pancake, orange slices, and a glass of milk. Mickey sighed loudly, but still took a seat next to Max and opened the envelope to see a card decorated with a photograph of the ocean and a blue sky.

_"To the one I love as deeply as the ocean and as vastly as the skies above us."_

As fucking cheesy as it was, Mickey had to smile at the front of the card.

_"Mick,_

_I know you'll think this is stupid as fuck, but I had to buy this card; that ocean scene reminded me of those beautiful blue eyes of yours. I love you, baby, and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life looking into those eyes. Now look inside the envelope and you'll find your present._

_Love you,_

_Ian."_

Confused, Mickey did as instructed, finding plane tickets and a print out for hotel reservations in Orlando, Florida. "The Hell is all this?"

"Started putting back money to do something with the kids this summer. I remember when we first got married  you sayin' you don't wanna go on a Honeymoon 'cause you don't wanna spend a week away from Max-and since we've got Harlow and Cian, now, I figured it would be even harder to get you away from them for a week-so me, Lip, and Mandy had a plan." Ian explained, smiling slyly at Mickey before continuing. "So, we're goin' to Orlando so the kids can go to Disney World."

"We are?!" Max exclaimed around a mouth full of pancakes.

"Mouth closed." Ian instructed his son. "And yes we are." Ian looked back at Mickey. "Mandy said her and Lip would take the kids for one day while we're there so we can have a day to ourselves."

"Ian, this is... Can we afford this?" He asked, still amazed by how much thought his husband had put into this.

"Cian's young enough that he doesn't need his own seat on the plane and we're gonna be in one room with our kids while Mandy and Lip have one with Arya, so yeah." Ian said, reaching across the table to take Mickey's hand. "We deserve this, Mick. After all the shit we've been through this year? We need something good." Ian didn't want to mention that the settlement they were given from the Department of Family Services-a lump sum of fifteen thousand dollars-to keep them from going to the Media about what they had been through had given them enough of a cushion that the vacation wouldn't set them back.

"You guys better be good until we go or you're not takin' a picture with Mickey Mouse." Mickey said, making Max and Harlow both shout out their excitement and Cian to laugh from the spot in his highchair-where Ian was trying desperately to get him to eat some baby food-at the two older children.

 

"Are you ever gonna tell me why me and Lip are goin' to dinner with you two, tonight?" Mandy asked as she sat Arya on the floor next to Harlow-who was curled up next to Jake as she watched "Cinderella"-and turning to look at Debbie, Carl, and Liam, knowing the three younger Gallaghers had to be aware of what was going on.

"Fuck if I know; it was Lip's idea." Mickey said with a shrug, passing Cian to Carl when he reached out for his uncle.

"Hey, Mouse. You gonna be good for Uncle Carl? That means no pissin' in my face like last time." Carl said sternly, looking down at the brunette baby in his arms. "Gonna take that as a "no." Hey, Liam? You're on diaper duty!"

"He just peed on you 'cause you were changing him too slow." Liam explained calmly, standing up to take Cian.

"And this is why Liam is Cian's favorite." Ian said as he descended the steps with Max-dressed in his "cool kid" Pajamas, which were a Spiderman T-shirt and red plaid pants-and Harlow's favorite blanket. "We won't be out too late, but if Harlow won't go to sleep just put her in our bed with her blanket and she'll be out."

"Ian, Carl and I have watched the kids hundreds of times; we know how to handle them." Debbie deadpanned before turning to where Franny was trying to covertly steal Max's Batman blanket. "Frances Harriet Gallagher!" Franny instantly stopped what she was doing.

"Sorry, Mama." Franny mutter, wrapping herself tighter in her own Elsa blanket.

"Liam, if Ari doesn't wanna sleep-" Liam instantly cut Mandy off.

"Lay down next to her and hum that "Lost Boy" song. I know, Mandy." Liam said with an eye roll that could put Mickey to shame.

"We better go." Ian said, subtly letting his siblings know he trusts them with the children. "Love you, Chipmunk." Ian said as he kissed Max's cheek, being fallowed shortly after by Mickey kissing the boy's hair before moving on to Harlow.

"Daddy loves you, Ladybug; be good, okay?" Mickey instructed, kissing Harlow's slightly turned up nose. Ian chuckled and kissed her hair and then Cian's forehead, which Mickey copied.

"Okay! Leave, already!" Carl bellowed, watching as the three young parents finally left the house.

 

Everyone at the table could tell Lip was nervous, so Ian was doing everything he could to keep Mandy from becoming suspicious-which mainly consisted of him being especially affectionate towards his husband and keeping his brother talking-but he could tell it wasn't working. "Hey, Mick, can you order for me? I need a cigarette; this place is making me stir-crazy." Ian said, tilting his chin towards the door to let Lip know they needed to talk.

"Medium rare rib-eye?" Mickey asked, knowing what Ian usually ordered when they went out.

"You know me so well." Ian cooed, pecking his husband's lips as he stood up, walking outside with his brother on his heels. "Man, you gotta calm down; I can feel the nerves rolling off you." Ian said he lit a cigarette, reveling in the nicotine coursing through his veins. He and Mickey hardly ever got to smoke, these days, due to Max's allergy and the fact that they have three children, which makes it harder for them to get a minute to go outside and smoke, so he enjoyed it when he could.

"I know, but... Did you worry that Mickey would say "no" when you asked him?" Lip asked, taking a drag off his own cigarette.

"A little, but I knew I loved him and that he loved me, so I just did it; if he said "no" we'd just move on." Ian said, eyeing his brother, slightly. "Do you love her? Or is this just because of Arya?"

"I love Mandy; yes, I love my daughter, but she's not the reason I want to marry Mandy." Lip said without a doubt. "I fucked up by goin' to see Karen, but it helped me realize that Mandy was the one who loved me for the fucked up, narcissistic guy I am."

"Then go in there and ask her to marry you." Ian ordered gently, stubbing out his cigarette and walking back inside. "Hey, baby." Ian greeted his husband, happily.

"Hey." Mickey replied, smiling up at Ian.

"You guys make me fuckin' sick!" Mandy exclaimed dramatically.

"Love him." Mickey said, simply.

"Hey, Mands?" Lip called as a question as he sat back at the table. "I know I've been actin' weird, and I'm sorry. But... Look, I could use every word in my vocabulary and it wouldn't be able to properly express how I feel about you; you loved me when I treated you like shit, you gave me a daughter I love more than life itself, and you've been my best friend for years. I didn't actually plan on doing some big speech, so..." Lip took a black ring box out of his pocket, opened it, and removed the simple gold band with a single ruby in it.

"I know you're not the "huge diamond ring" type." Lip nervously explained. "Will you marry me?" Mandy just nodded and kissed her fiancé with a smile on her face. Mickey laced his fingers with Ian's, letting him know he was happy for his sister.


	49. Horizons

"Favorite Aunt is here!" Fiona yelled as she entered the house shortly after Max and Harlow finished their lunch on Saturday afternoon.

"Hi Aunt Fi." Max said, hugging around his Aunt's waist. "What's that?" Max asked, pointing at the gift bags in his Aunt's hand.

"These are for my favorite niece and nephews. Where are your Papa and sister?" Fiona asked as she looked around, only seeing Mickey at the table feeding Cian and Max's Hot Wheels cars out, but no Ian or Harlow.

"Bathroom." Mickey said simply as he wiped some baby food off Cian's chin. "Any reason you're bringing the kids presents?"

"I'll explain it when Harlow's out here." Fiona said, setting down two red bags and a pink one. "Had to use Valentine's Day bags."

"Don't think Max or Harlow's gonna care and Cian ain't gonna understand." Mickey reassured his friend as his husband and daughter walked out of the bathroom.

"Aunt Fi!" Harlow shouted as she ran over to her Aunt and hugged her.

"Hey, Fiona." Ian said, pecking his sister's cheek. "What're you doin' here?"

"Got the babies some gifts for their trip, this summer." Fiona explained as she passed the older two children their bags and carried Cian's in to Mickey. "I was under strict orders not to tell you about it, sweetie. Anyway, I went up a size for those two and got him twelve months."

Mickey nodded in understanding, watching Harlow as she took three tank tops and an Elsa doll out of her bag. Ian rolled his eyes with a smirk before looking at each shirt and carrying them to the kitchen for Mickey to see while Harlow happily played with her new doll. The first top was hot pink with the word "Love" written on it in silver with a Minnie Mouse logo replacing the O, the second was grey with nine Minnie Mouse faces-each with a different expression-all sporting her signature red bow, and the last was navy blue and looked like Elsa had been spray painted on it in sparkly, ice blue paint.

"Cool! Thank you, Aunt Fi!" Max exclaimed as he took out a t-shirt and turned it to show his parents. The shirt was Army Green and read "I am the last Jedi" in black.

"Welcome, bud, but you got more." Fiona informed her very excited nephew. Max pulled out a second shirt and turned it to show his parents the black t-shirt with a grey Avengers symbol on the stomach followed by a grey shirt with a distressed-looking Mickey Mouse. He then took out a Spiderman Action figure and smiled broadly before rushing to hug his Aunt.

"You didn't have to get them this stuff, Fiona." Mickey said, wondering how much this had cost his sister-in-law.

"I got Arya stuff, too; got an awesome deal on the Disney website after I started orderin' the kids' Christmas presents on there." The brunette woman informed Mickey as he took a tiny red t-shirt with Ironman emblazoned on the stomach out of Cian's bag.

"Cool! I got Spiderman and Cian got Ironman! We're gonna be awesome!" Max exclaimed, fiddling with his new toy as Mickey took out a light blue t-shirt with Stich on the stomach and the word "Ohana" over his head followed by a grey t-shirt that matched Max's Mickey Mouse shirt and a velvet soft Mickey Mouse plush toy.

"Arya get a toy, too?" Ian asked as Cian reached out for the Mickey Mouse stuffed animal.

"Yeah; she got a Daisy Duck stuffed animal like his Mickey Mouse. Got her a Daisy Duck shirt like the Minnie Mouse one I got Harlow, an Anna one like Harlow's Elsa one, and a pink Avenger's t-shirt." Fiona said, laughing as Harlow crawled into her lap with the Elsa doll in her hands.

"Me and Cian got the cool shirts 'cause we got superheros." Max decided.

"Ari got an Avenger's shirt." Ian pointed out which caused his son to scoff.

"But we got Superhero pictures on ours." Max said as he pushed his glasses back up his nose. Max had only been wearing them for a few days-after Mickey and Ian realized he was having a hard time seeing things farther than a few inches from his face and scheduled him an appointment with an ophthalmologist-but he was already getting pretty used to wearing the thick, black-rimmed glasses. Ian thought he looked adorable in them, and Mickey would tell the eight-year-old how smart he looked in his new glasses all the time. "Aunt Fi, who's your favorite Disney character?"

"I like Snow White." Fiona said simply. "I always wanted to be her when I was a kid."

"I wanna be like Spiderman; he's smart and he wears glasses, like I do." Max said, showing Cian his Spiderman toy. "Daddy, who's your favorite?" Max asked without looking away from his baby brother.

"I like Dory, Chipmunk." Mickey said, ashamed that he now knew Disney characters by name.

"Papa?" Max glanced at Ian, but continued to play with the giggling baby boy in front of him.

"I like... Sully." Ian answered, passing Harlow her Anna doll so she could play with both that and her new Elsa doll.

"Why?" Max asked with a little laugh.

"He looks mean and scary, but he's a big softie like your Daddy." This earned Ian an elbow to the side from his husband.

"Asshole." Mickey grumbled before cleaning Cian's hands and mouth off with a diaper wipe.

"Sissy, who is your favorite Disney person?" Max questioned, turning around to face his sister.

"Uhmmm... Pumbaa!" Harlow exclaimed happily.

"Only Harlow would pick a farting warthog." Ian laughed with a shake of his head. The family fell into an easy conversation after that, all happy and comfortable.

 

"We need a way to make sure we can find the kids when we're in Orlando." Mickey said, chewing his thumbnail as he scrolled through his phone.

"We'll make sure they're always holding one of our hands." Ian reasoned, exhausted from a long day keeping up with two hyperactive children and a baby who was learning to roll onto his back and then back.

"Saw a thing online; write your phone number on your kid's wrist and use skin shield to make sure it don't come off." Mickey commented, still staring at his phone.

"Mick, baby, we're gonna have one adult per child; I think we'll be okay." Ian murmured, reaching out for his husband's leg. "Lay down with me, baby; I wanna cuddle with you." Ian whined, making Mickey chuckle to himself softly.

"So sorry I wanna keep our children safe." Mickey replied sarcastically.

"So do I, but we're not even going until July." Ian reasoned. "Now lay down and get some sleep with your husband."

"Can't sleep." Mickey mumbled, still looking at his phone.

"Bet I can help with that." Ian said, suddenly wide awake. He sat up, taking Mickey's phone and putting it on the nightstand before pulling the brunette into a fierce, demanding kiss. Mickey pulled away to breathe-eyes glazed over and lips red-ready to dive back in for another kiss when Cian's soft whimpers sounded through the baby monitor. "Guess this is on hold for awhile, huh?"

"Sorry." Mickey said, pecking Ian's lips before hopping out of bed and leaving the room to check on their youngest son. Sure, Ian wanted to get laid, but he loved the caring, devoted parent his husband was, and could only see more of that side Mickey was now so comfortable showing-the side that only wanted to love and be loved in return-on the horizon.


	50. Secrets Revealed

"Excuse me, do you know a man named Mik-hale-oh Gallagher?" A tall, tan man with neatly styled dark hair and charming hazel eyes as Mickey walked up the street from where he had parked his car towards the construction site he'd been working on for several weeks.

"Why do you wanna know?" Mickey asked. Fucking sue him, but Mickey would never trust a man who wore a fucking suit that probably cost more than the house he and Ian lived in and both cars combined.

"I'm a partner at the Michaels and Grant law firm and we recently heard about what the Department of Family Services put you and your husband-Ian, right?-through and wanted to offer our help; pro-bono." The man said, extending his hand towards Mickey.

"Don't know what you're talkin' about." Mickey said, retrieving his phone from his pocket and shooting a quick text to Ian, reminding him to pick up Max's refilled prescription of his Migraine medication.

"Mister Gallagher, I am not at liberty to disclose who contacted us, but-" Mickey cut the man off for a combination of reasons; the first one being that he and Ian both wanted to move past what had happened, and the second one being that they had been given a settlement with the specific instructions not to contact the press about what Amelia Parker had done, and a lawsuit like this would certainly draw media attention.

"Look man, I don't know who called you and I honestly don't fuckin' care; it's got nothing to do with me or my fuckin' husband." Mickey said, turning around and walking into the construction site to start his work day.

 

"He okay?" Sue asked her partner as Ian read the message Mickey had sent him about some lawyer showing up at his job asking about the shit that had happened with the Department of Family Services.

"Confused, mostly; wants to know who the Hell contacted a law firm about us." Ian said, trying to think of anyone who had a reason to contact a law firm with no luck.

"Think it was Parker or her asshole brother?" Sue asked, her fingers gripping the bench she was seated on so tight Ian was convinced her knuckles would break.

"No; Carl just told us Chris got locked up in solitary after starting a fight with a guard. And Amelia's been under surveillance because what she did was actually considered a danger to children after Chris went to our house and admitted he'd been fallowing us, too, with information he got from Amelia." Ian explained, his stomach churning disgustingly at the memory of the night Mickey came home with his face, neck, torso, and hands all bruised and bloody.

"Wait, that woman you met with at the DFS-Winnie? Wanda? Some shit like that-who fired Parker? Didn't you say she wasn't happy with her? Was she happy about the settlement?" Sue asked, really feeling like she was on to something.

"Didn't seem like she was, no; she seemed to think we'd end up with a larger settlement. But we didn't even want the money; we just wanted all of that shit over with." Ian said, though he and Sue both knew Ian and Mickey would've completely forgone the whole settlement if they could assure their children were safe.

"If she thinks you two got cheated, then maybe she called thinkin' she was helping." Sue reasoned, and Ian had to admit she may really did have a point. The problem was, he wasn't sure this was actually helpful.

 

"Look at you, handsome!" Mickey cooed, holding Cian over his head and kissing the boy's stomach repeatedly as the baby giggled and squealed in delight. "Are you a happy Mouse, today?" Mickey asked, glad the only people who could see him making goofy fucking faces at his infant son or hear him talking in that annoyingly high-pitched voice were his two eldest children. Or, it would be if they hadn't both passed out while laying on the floor with both dogs as they watched "Toy Story."

"Do they ever stay awake through a whole movie?" Ian asked when he walked into the house, spotting both redheaded children asleep in front of the T.V.

"Max? Yes. Harlow? No." Mickey replied, sputtering when Cian stuffed his fingers into his father's mouth. "What was that for, huh?"

"He's in a good mood, today." Ian commented, clearly trying not to laugh as Cian tried to get his hand back into Mickey's mouth. "Hey, has Wendy called you, recently?" Ian asked as he sat down next to his husband and the laughing baby in his arms.

"No, why?" Mickey asked, nipping at Cian's fingers, which made the boy laugh harder.

"Was talkin' to Sue about that lawyer talkin' to you and she came up with a theory that made sense; what if Wendy called? She was pretty pissed that we were given a fifteen thousand dollar settlement when she thought we should've gotten more." Ian said, watching Mickey in an attempt to judge how Mickey was taking this theory.

"We need to talk to Wendy." Mickey decided, gently shifting Cian so he could better see his other father.

 

"You got an extra one of those?" Wendy asked as she approached Mickey as he stood alone on the jogging path in the small park near the Gallagher's house with a cigarette in his hand.

"Didn't know you smoked." Mickey replied as he handed Wendy a cigarette and the engraved Zippo-with his and Ian's initials carved into it-that Mandy and Lip had given him-and Ian, considering he had the same lighter with a brass finish instead of the gun metal finish Mickey's had-for their second wedding anniversary. Mickey and Ian had developed a decent friendship with Wendy after their first meeting with the woman, but he'd never once seen her smoke.

"I've been trying to quit since I'm tryin' to get pregnant. What did you need?" Wendy asked as she lit the cigarette, sighing happily as she inhaled the sweet smoke. "God that's good."

"Did you call a lawyer for me and Ian?" Mickey asked, flicking his ashes as he spoke.

"I hope it doesn't bother you two... You two got cheated; you should have gotten at least a hundred thousand just for emotional damages, let alone reimbursing you for the damages to your house Chris Thompson caused." Wendy explained calmly. "Talk to Michaels and Grant and get what you deserve."

"Wendy, we took the settlement so we could leave it all behind us." Mickey argued, feeling his anxiety level rising by the moment.

"I already discussed everything with them-a law degree comes in handy-and all you have to do is sign some documents stating that, yes, this has caused emotional distress, physical injury, and destruction of property." Wendy reassured her friend, kindly.

"Could use some of the money to start savings accounts for the kids; give 'em a start when they go out on their own." Mickey mumbled, thinking of the positives of getting a little more money. He grew up as a con man so why the fuck not?

 

"So we're doing this?" Ian asked in a whisper, stroking Mickey's sweaty back as the brunette laid on top of him, trying to catch his breath after a round of rather intense sex.

"It's a hundred thousand dollars at the least, Ian; we'd be able to put three grand in an account for each of the kids-add more to it until they're eighteen-and we'd still have eighty-five grand that we could put in our own savings account so we've got a cushion for bills or emergencies." Mickey explained, finally breathing regularly as he looked up at his husband. "With the fifteen grand we already got we'd be back to the original fifteen thousand. How many chances are we gonna have to actually have six digits in our bank account?" Ian had to agree with his husband; it would be amazing to be able to start a savings account for their children, whether it was for college or just to give them a start when they moved out on their own, and-considering they hadn't used a penny of the fifteen thousand dollar settlement they'd received-they would have a nice emergency fund in their account.

"We'll have Wendy go with us." Ian said, looking down at where Mickey was starting to doze of on his chest. "I love you."

"Love you, too." Mickey tiredly mumbled, laying a kiss over Ian's heart before falling asleep. This could be a good thing for their family, even if it came from a horrid time in their lives.


	51. Unfair Judgements

"Thank you for meeting with us, gentlemen." A woman in her mid-forties greeted Ian and Mickey as they walked into a conference room with Wendy at their side. "If you'll have a seat we can get started." Ian nodded and gently tugged Mickey's hand to lead him to a seat, stroking Mickey's skin with his thumb the whole time. When they were seated, Ian realized Mickey had his hands hidden under the table. At first, Ian assumed he was just nervous, until he remembered what Amelia had used as her defense when she was questioned by Wendy; that Mickey's tattoos had been enough proof for her that he was a bad parent.

"You're not a bad father, Mick." Ian whispered to Mickey, wrapping his arm around the other man's waist.

"Are we to understand that you have proof that Christopher Thompson caused physical harm and property damage?" A man with an icily cold expression on his face asked Mickey and Ian. Ian assumed he was representing the Department of Family Services.

"The Gallaghers have photographic evidence of physical injury inflicted to their son-who was only seven at the time-and Mikhailo, as well as damage to their home." Will Michaels-the lawyer they had been originally contacted by and had spoken to several times since then-said, offering the other attorney copies of the photographic evidence Mickey and Ian had.

"And is there any reason to believe Miss Parker was aware of any of this?" The pompous-looking man asked, his icy demeanor only cracking when he got to the pictures of what Mickey assumed had to have been of Max's head after the incident at his old school. "Oh goodness." The man muttered, passing the photos to the woman at his side.

"Abigail Josephs; she's the head of the Dolton branch of the Illinois Department of Family Services." Wendy whispered to Mickey and Ian. "She looks cold, but she's one of the kindest women I've ever met."

"Miss Parker signed documents stating that she believed Mister Thompson when he told her the Gallagher's made false statements against him. We also have phone records from the correctional facility Mister Thompson was in, showing that he called Miss Parker several times during his incarceration." Will said, passing more papers over.

"Do you have the phone transcripts? I'd like to know how long this was being planned before being enacted." Abigail finally said, still looking down at the photographs of Max.

"We do." Will assured her, passing the next few papers directly to Abigail.

"This is... This is unacceptable." Abigail said in disbelief. "Misses Stephens, when were you given the file from the initial visit to the Gallagher's home?"

"I had it brought to my office the morning of my meeting with the Gallagher's; Miss Parker didn't appear to want the report handed in until she could find some evidence that they were in some way unfit to raise their children. She went about this by illegally fallowing them, as well as giving Mister Thompson information about their family, which he also used to illegally fallow them." Wendy explained, watching Ian caress Mickey's back out of the corner of her eye.

"Gentlemen... This is..." Abigail kept shaking her head as she spoke, pushing the transcripts and photographs away as if they had burned her. "Give them whatever they're asking." Abigail said, standing up and exiting the room with tears in her eyes as the first woman-who was apparently a Michaels and Grant paralegal-Will, and the man who had been seated next to Abigail discussed the settlement money, only pausing for a moment when Mickey stood up and left the room.

 

"You know, Wendy blames herself, too." Mickey commented as he stepped out onto the sidewalk where the older woman was sitting on the curb, looking down at an unlit cigarette in her hand. "Tryin' to quit?" He asked, sitting down next to her.

"I quit three years ago; I have the last pack I bought in my purse as a reminder that I made a good choice. Sometimes just holding one helps with the nerves." Abigail explained. "I take it you know the motions from experience."

"I've been pregnant three times; I know how hard it is to give up the habit of holding a cigarette. Sometimes it seemed harder than quitting in the first place." Mickey said conversationally.

"I interviewed Amelia, myself, when she first applied for her job; I truly believed she wanted to help children." Abigail sighed, wringing her wrinkled hands. Abigail reminded Mickey of what a grandmother should look like; short, silver hair, round, wire-rimmed glasses over her kind, wise, brown eyes, her olive skin heavily wrinkled, and a short, rather portly body. "I guess sometimes we can be fooled by appearances."

"Happens to everyone." Mickey commented. "She might have, but she wanted to believe her family; we do what we have to for our family."

"Once again, I take it you know from experience." Abigail joked, dryly.

"Parents do what they have to do to keep their kids safe, happy, and healthy." Mickey said, standing up and offering Abigail his hand. "We should go back in; they probably need us." Abigail nodded in agreement, taking Mickey's extended hand and pulling herself up.

 

"So, if we put seventy-five in Max's account every month until his high school graduation he'll have over ten grand to get himself started when he moves out, or we can put it into his college education if he decides to go." Mickey rambled off as he looked over the numbers he'd been running. "We can put thirty a month in Harlow's, and she'll have over eight grand, and of we put fifteen in Cian's he'll be close to Seven grand. A hundred and twenty dollars a month and we can make sure they each have some money for when they start out on their own."

"Once Max graduates we can start puttin' seventy in Harlow's and forty in Cian's." Ian said, looking over Mickey's shoulder.

"Harlow'd be up to just under ten grand. We'd get Cian up to just under nine grand, and that's if we didn't just put the whole one-twenty in his for the next four years after Harlow turned eighteen." Mickey said, circling his final amounts. "Better start that either of our parents gave us, man."

"We're better parents than they were." Ian said without a hint of doubt. "You know these don't make you a bad parent, right?" Ian asked, lifting Mickey's "fuck" hand.

"She decided it did, Ian; she took one fuckin' look at my hands, and decided it was better for our kids to be taken away from us." Mickey said, yanking his hand away from Ian. "I was fourteen; it's not like I was thinkin' about the rest of my God damn life when I was fourteen fuckin' years old!"

"I know that, Mick. I made way worse choices at fourteen; people just don't see mine." Ian said, calmly. "And if anyone thinks you're a bad parent? Fuck them. They don't see how much you do every God damn day for our kids." Ian plucked up the paper in front of Mickey, holding it up so the other man could see it. "This? This is you making sure you're still takin' care of them after they're on their own. You're an amazing fuckin' Dad, and our kids know it. Fuck Amelia Parker's bullshit."

"That it?" Mickey sarcastically asked, snatching the paper back from Ian.

"Yes." Ian replied, pecking Mickey's lips. "Gonna go check on the boys." Mickey nodded and watched Ian walk up the stairs. Sure, he was still a little put off by Amelia's initial defense, but he knew her unfair judgements about him were completely unfounded; he was a good parent, and would continue to do everything for those three, beautiful little people.

 

 


	52. Kids Say The Damnedest Things

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think it's hilarious when parents tweet about stuff their kids have done/said, and thought it would be fun to come up with some similar tweets from Mickey and Ian about their kids. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

_Ian_gallagher: If anyone ever wonders what it's like to have three kids under 10, my daughter just screamed that she needed to poop in walmart._

_Mick.Gallagher: Max: "Daddy!" Me: "What?" Max: "I'm the best burper! *burps and pounds his chest*" Thanks for telling the whole restaurant, bud._

_Ian_gallagher: Max: "We need a cat." Me: "We have two dogs." Max: "We need two cats." Damn, can't argue with that logic._

_Mick.gallagher: Harlow:"Daddy, Elsa's sick! *hands me_ _doll*" Me:"Want Daddy to help you take care of her?" Harlow:"You watch her; I play." Guess I'm babysitting_

_Ian_gallagher: Babies may not talk, but they WILL laugh when they piss on you. Thanks, Cian._

_Mick.gallagher: The kids are excited to go to Disney World this summer, so I've heard "Let It Go" 45 times, today._

_Ian_gallagher: I had to explain today that, no, you can't lick the dogs just because they lick you._

_Mick.gallagher: Max: "Daddy, why do we have to wear clothes to weddings?" He meant dress clothes. I hope._

_Ian_gallagher: Harlow:"Papa! Kill the spider!" Me:"*Smashes spider*" Harlow:"Good. Now I not Spiderman." Wasn't aware that was an issue she had, before._

_Mick.gallagher: Ian tried to explain insomnia to Max when he heard it on TV. Max's response? "They must have babies in their room."_

_Ian_gallagher: Blood, broken bones, or vomit? No problem. My seven month old son's diapers? Yeah, no, I can't handle that without gaging._

_Mick.gallagher: Cian now thinks it's fuckin hilarious to stick his whole fist in my mouth. After it's been in his. Love you, too, Key._

_Ian_gallagher: My brother is married to my husband's sister. Max realized this and yelled "Aunt Mandy is your sister, Uncle Lip!" at their wedding._

_Mick.gallagher: I always say my kids don't fight. They must have decided I'm a liar, because Harlow is now chasing Max with a pirate sword._

_Ian_gallagher: Max:"No, Papa, I LIKE spilling grape juice on myself." After I asked if he wanted me to get him a clean shirt. He's so much like his father._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted a short, funny chapter because this story gets a little intense, sometimes. Leave me some comments to let me know what you think. Much love!


	53. Shine

The first thing Mickey was aware of when he woke up was a small hand on his face. He originally assumed it was Harlow-who had recently figured out she could easily get out of her toddler bed in the morning-until he heard an incredibly high-pitched laugh. "Hey, little mouse."

"Guess you finally woke Daddy up, Key." Ian laughed from the other side of the bed, clearly sitting just behind Cian.

"Where's Max and Harlow?" Mickey groggily asked, his eyes still closed as he reached out to touch Cian's back-a habit he's developed over his time as a parent, any time his kids sat next to him-and meeting Ian's warm fingers.

"Still sleeping; it's only seven-thirty." Ian explained, clearly still tired, himself. "This little guy decided he wanted Papa to come get him so he could see his Daddy." Cian let out another high-pitched laugh and slapped Mickey's cheek softly.

"Feelin' the love, Cian." Mickey mumbled, opening his eyes just enough to meet his son's bright green ones and a wide, gummy smile. What caught his eye-however-was a small, white bump in his bottom gum. Mickey sat up quickly, taking Cian into his arms and looking at his gums. "Did he get a fever?"

"No?" Ian stated as a question, looking into Cian's mouth alongside his husband. "Guess he had an easier time with it than his sister, huh?" Ian asked, lifting Cian up and blowing raspberries against the baby's stomach.

"Got your first tooth, baby boy!" Mickey exclaimed happily, stealing Cian back and kissing his little cheek.

"Harlow was a happy baby, but I swear Key's the happiest baby on earth." Ian said, smiling at his son when the baby started to chew on his fingers.

"You forgetting how much he cried for the first three months?" Mickey asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, but he's been incredibly happy for the past four months." Ian said simply. "You're a happy baby, aren't you, Cian?" Ian asked the infant, ticking his small, bare feet. Cian laughed, his whole body going limp in Mickey's arms as his legs kicked happily.

"Watch Daddy's face, mouse." Mickey said, nibbling on Cian's foot when it came close to his face. Cian may have been the reason Mickey was awake before eight o'clock on his day off, but he loved having time with his children and his husband.

 

"Papa! Tell Harlow to stop!" Max whined, trying to shimmy off the couch and away from his sister as she tried to bite his face.

"Harlow Rue Gallagher! We don't bite people!" Ian scolded his daughter, plucking her off the couch and turning her to face him. Despite generally being well behaved, Harlow was not particularly crazy about no longer being the baby of the family and would act up in an effort to get more attention.

"Want down!" Harlow screeched surging forward and trying to bite Ian's cheek.

"Harlow!" Mickey yelled, snatching Harlow away from Ian. "No! Papa just told you we don't bite!" Mickey walked Harlow over to the bright red "time out" chair-something Debbie had suggested when Harlow started acting out and neither parent wanted to spank their daughter-and started the timer.

"No!" Harlow yelled, trying to stand up, only for Mickey to sit her back down.

"Nope; you're gonna sit down and when you get up, you're gonna tell Papa and Max sorry." Mickey said in his "Dad voice" which made Harlow stop fighting him and look down at her feet.

"Gotta teach me how to do that." Ian murmured as he walked past Mickey to the side of the couch to check Max for bite marks. "Did Sissy bite you, anywhere?"

"No." Max said, allowing Ian to check his arms.

"Okay, bud, looks alright." Ian said, ruffling the boy's hair as he stood up. "Go play in your room while Sissy's in time-out, okay?" Max nodded and dashed off up the stairs, Hyde running along behind his boy. "We gotta figure out a way to stop this shit, Mick; she just tried to bite Max, for God's sake." Ian sighed, dropping himself onto the couch and looking over at Cian sitting in the playpen off to the side of the room with his beloved Mickey Mouse plush toy.

"Never had this problem with Max; he was always a good kid." Mickey replied, leaning against the wall behind him, his eyes still on Harlow.

"She was always a good kid until..." Ian didn't want to finish that sentence; didn't want it to appear that he was blaming their youngest son-who couldn't even walk or talk-for their daughter's behavior.

"Yeah." Mickey said, clearly understanding what Ian meant. "Too late to worry about that, now, though; he's here."

"I know, and I don't regret it, at all. But we've gotta figure out a way to handle Harlow's behavior." Ian said, smirking when Cian waved his Mickey Mouse at Jake through the sides of the playpen.

"Think Fiona would have an idea? Doubt with her raisin' five kids they were all perfect fuckin' angels all the time." Mickey said, glancing at the timer on the table beside the "time-out chair" to see how much longer Harlow had in time-out.

"Me and Lip where complete menaces, so she probably has something we could try." Ian agreed, knowing his older brother and himself had caused Fiona quite a few headaches.

"Times up. Go tell Papa sorry." Mickey told the girl, waiting for her to stand up.

"I sorry, Papa." Harlow said quietly, climbing onto the couch and hugging Ian.

"Okay, baby." Ian said, hugging the little girl back. "Come on, let's go upstairs and you can tell Max sorry."

 

 _"Ian went through a bitin' stage when he was about Harlow's age; Monica just had Debbie and he got real jealous and started bitin' me and Lip. I was only nine and since I was the one takin' care of him I had to come up with something. I tried lecturin' him, time-outs, whipping his ass, and then I tried bitin' him back and he finally stopped."_ Fiona told Mickey as he sat in the kitchen with Max and Ian while Max ate his lunch and Harlow and Cian took their naps.

"I'm not biting Harlow." Mickey said, causing Ian's eyebrows to shoot up and Max to stare at him with wide eyes.

 _"Just sayin' that's what I had to do to get Ian to stop. With Harlow? I'd say time-outs and talkin' to her should work after awhile."_ Fiona said simply.

"I got an idea. Tell you if it worked, later." Mickey said before ending the call and standing up.

 

"Hey, Ladybug." Mickey said as he entered Harlow's bedroom, finding her sitting on her bed and playing with two of her stuffed animals.

"Hi, Daddy." Harlow said without looking up. Mickey moved to sit on the edge of her bed and pulled Harlow into his lap. "Daddy's gotta talk to you, baby girl... You know Papa and Daddy still love you even though you're not the baby, anymore, right?" Mickey asked, looking down into shining blue eyes.

"You play with baby, more." Harlow pouted, making her look even more like Ian.

"The baby needs us to do more for him than you do, Ladybug. That don't mean we love him anymore than you. Do we love Max less just 'cause we had two babies after him?" Mickey asked the girl, knowing she was smart enough to understand even if she was only three and a half.

"No." Harlow answered, furrowing her little eyebrows as if she was trying to figure out the connection between the two things.

"Exactly. He's still our baby, even if he's not  _the_ baby, anymore, and so are you. But you know what? You're our only baby girl." Mickey stage whispered the last part, making Harlow laugh. "And you're the only one in the whole house who has their own room!"

"Yeah!" Harlow exclaimed as if this new information was the greatest thing on fucking Earth.

"So you're special to us, just like Cian; you're all special. Max is our first baby, you're our baby girl, and Cian's our littlest baby." Who was he and where the fuck was Mickey Milkovich? Where was the guy who would punch someone's teeth in for something to do?

"Okay. I sorry I bite... I no mean to hurt Papa or Max." Harlow said sincerely, her bright blue eyes shining even more.

"I know, Ladybug. But you gotta be nice to your brothers, okay? When you got no one else, you know who's always their?" At the shake of Harlow's head, Mickey continued. "Your family; you're gonna have me, Papa, Max, and Cian in your corner forever." He promised, leaning in to kiss the girl's forehead. "Come on; we'll make Papa make you some macaroni and cheese for lunch."

Mickey stood up with Harlow in his arms and walked down the stairs with her. He may have made himself fucking sick with how he had to handle the situation, but this was just another piece of evidence that he'd do anything for his babies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've heard people say that if you-softly-bite a kid's finger when they bite you, they stop, so I sort of pictured a nine-year-old Fiona trying that to get Ian to stop. Leave me some comments and let me know what you thought of this chapter. Much love!


	54. Talk About Love

"I remember Mickey being around a lot when I was little." Liam said quietly as he sat on Ian and Mickey's back porch with Ian as Mickey, Harlow, Max, Jake, and Hyde ran around the backyard. "He was always nice to me when I was a kid; didn't treat me different just 'cause I didn't talk." Ian was curious about what brought this subject up, but Ian loved the idea of Mickey being a good companion to Liam when everyone else was convinced he was incapable of thought.

"You never told me you remembered him; you were so young I just thought you forgot him bein' around." Ian said, setting Cian down so he could crawl around on the porch.

"I did for a while." Liam admitted. "I remembered someone talking to you all the time, kissing your cheeks, and telling you to take medicine. I could remember the voice, but the face was... Kinda fuzzy for a long time." Liam had a far-off look in his wide brown eyes as he watched Mickey run around with Harlow over his head making "airplane" noises. "I can remember him telling me not to listen to what people said; that there was nothing wrong with me."

Ian had smile at that. Of course Mickey would say that; he may look like an asshole to the outside world, but he had the biggest heart out of anyone Ian had ever met. "He's right, you know? There's nothing wrong with you, Liam." Ian said, turning to face his younger brother.

"I don't like loud noises." Liam mumbled, clearly embarrassed.

"Neither does Mickey." Ian countered. It was true; Mickey got really twitchy anytime thunder would rumble outside.

"It takes me a long time to figure stuff out at school." Liam said, sadly.

"And there's nothing wrong with that. No one's perfect, man; we all have our flaws." Ian knew Liam had his problems in school, but he also knew Liam was in no way stupid. "If you ever have problems with school, come to me, Lip, Mandy or Mickey; I tested out of all of my English classes Sophomore year, Lip's a science wiz, Mandy can tell you anything you need to know about History, and Mickey's scary good with numbers."

"Can I ask you something?" Liam asked, finally looking away from Mickey and the kids.

"Sure." Ian agreed, wondering what Liam was curious about.

"Is it hard to tell when you're in love? Lip had a hard time figuring it out, but as long as I can remember you've been in love with Mickey." Liam explained, clearly wondering how his brothers could be so different in that aspect.

"Honestly? No, it wasn't for me; Mickey had my back any time I needed him to, and I realized pretty early on I loved him. Not just 'cause he had my back, but because he was just... Mickey." Ian hoped his explanation would clear things up just a little bit for Liam. "I loved him 'cause he showed me his softer side, and I knew that he never even let Mandy see that side of him. Because he was willin' to take care of me, and because he was there anytime I needed him to be." 

"Papa, can I have a snack?" Max asked as he ran onto the porch, careful not to disrupt Cian as he played with two brightly colored trucks and his Mickey Mouse that never seemed to leave his side.

"Yeah, Chipmunk. Let's go get you some carrots." Ian said as he stood up, ruffling Liam's hair as he entered the house with Max at his side.

 

"Liam remembers you." Ian said quietly as he and Mickey laid in their bed later that night, listening to the soft sounds of Max's snores and Cian's soft breaths coming through the baby monitor.

"Fuckin' hope so; kid sees me almost every god damn day." Mickey mumbled, clearly trying to fall asleep, even though Ian was trying to talk to him.

"Smartass. I meant when he was younger... When I first got diagnosed." Ian may be more open about his disorder now, but that didn't mean he had to like being reminded that he'd treated Mickey so poorly in the early days.

"Didn't think he'd remember that shit; kid was pretty young." Mickey yawned, throwing his bare leg over Ian's hips in an effort to get more comfortable.

"He didn't say anything about it until today. He told me you used to talk to him, and... Thank you. For bein' there for my brother." Ian whispered, kissing Mickey's hair when the brunette's breathing started to even out. Ian had seen for years how hard Mickey had worked to turn his life around and be a better man for Max-and now their other two children-but he'd never thought about how much he'd changed to help him during his time of need.

 

Mickey was usually the more talkative between himself and Ian-despite Ian being more open and friendly-but in the week after Ian's talk with Liam, Mickey was quiet, and it reminded Ian far too much of the episode of depression Mickey went through shortly after they got back together. "You okay, baby?" Ian asked softly, watching Mickey as he gave Cian a bath.

"'M fine." Mickey replied, looking down at the brunette baby, giggling and splashing his chubby hands in his bath water.

"Mick, baby, talk to me." Ian gently ordered, allowing Cian to take a hold of the index finger on his left hand.

"Jus'... Forgot how long it'd been since I acted like the real me." Mickey admitted, lifting a squealing Cian out of his tub.

"Mick, honey, I hate to tell you this, but that asshole you acted like when you were a kid? That's not who you are. This is; the guy who takes care of everyone and loves his kids? That's the real Mickey." Ian said as softly as he could, taking Cian and dressing him in a diaper, a white, long sleeve onesie, and a pair of black sweatpants. "All ready, little guy." Ian cooed to his son, kissing Cian's chubby, dimpled cheeks. "You gonna talk to your therapist about all this shit?"

"Should I?" Mickey asked, watching Cian roll around on their bed with his favorite toy. 

"Yeah, or you're never gonna learn how to cope with all this "I'm not the real me" shit." Ian commented, giving Cian a pacifier.

"I got an appointment next week." Mickey said, seemingly okay with the idea of talking his issues out with a trained professional before things got out of hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait, guys, I had horrible writer's block for over a month. Leave me a comment to let me know what you thought of this chapter. Much love!


	55. Reflect On The Past, Live In The Present, Look Towards The Future

Mickey wasn't exactly crazy about the fact that he went to a therapist once a month, but he didn't like the idea of turning into Terry Milkovich-he absolutely hated the idea that his babies might someday fear him-so he swallowed his pride and did what he had to for the four people who meant the most to him; For Ian, Max, Harlow, and Cian. "So, Mickey, what makes you think the man you are now is an act, rather than the boy you were back then?" Doctor Marshall asked Mickey as he sat across from the younger man as Mickey looked down at a picture of Max, Harlow, and Cian wrestling Ian to the floor with broad smiles on all four of their faces.

"That was who I always was before Ian, and then I just... I don't know, I changed; I took care of people and tried to keep my fuckin' temper under control." Mickey explained, still staring down at the picture of his family in their home, all happy and enjoying their time together.

"Mickey, from what I've learned about you over the past four years, is that you're a natural care-giver; you love being a father and husband-you've fully embraced a more nurturing role in life-so my opinion is that one of two things happened. One, is you simply matured and found something that gives you more joy than inflicting pain. And two-the one I find more likely-is that the person you were at that point in your life was all an act you created to fit in with your violent father." Doctor Marshall said, causing Mickey to look up at him with a smirk, for virtually repeating what Ian had said to him.

"Ian thinks that, too." Mickey admitted, wondering if his Therapist and husband were right. He didn't exactly miss the violent, closeted, homophobic boy he was in the past, but it was strange to see himself as a loving, nurturing, openly gay man with a family he adored when he knew that-at sixteen-he never believed he would have this life.

"Ian suggested you try boxing to get out some aggression, correct?" Mickey nodded his response to the question. "That may actually be something to consider." Mickey nodded again, thinking it may be a good idea to get some of his anger out in a constructive way.

 

"Daddy! I don' wanna go to bed!" Max whined as Mickey carried the boy-who was already half asleep-up the stairs for the night.

"Too bad, little man; Daddy and Papa want to go to bed." Mickey replied, watching Ian as he slowly walked the length of the hallway with Cian in his arms, fussing and struggling in his father's arm, just like his older brother was in Mickey's arms.

"But it's still early!" Max whined pathetically. Max was usually such a calm child, but tonight he was fighting sleep at every turn.

"Max, listen to your Daddy." Ian said without looking away from the fussy infant in his arms. Mickey often wondered how Ian had taken so well to parenting, but he appreciated how well Ian interacted with all three children.

"Yes, Papa." Max huffed, earning Ian a thankful smile from his husband as Mickey walked Max into the boys' bedroom to put their oldest to bed.

 

"Finally got Key down." Ian sighed, dropping into the bed next to Mickey. "No idea why he was so damn fussy."

"'Cause they can't give us an easy night." Mickey yawned, reaching over to wrap his arm around Ian. "So glad we're done with babies, man."

"Gonna miss them wanting us all the time, but I agree with you." Ian sighed, allowing himself to curl further around Mickey. "Don't think I could handle any more."

"Think we should look into makin' sure it don't happen, again?" Mickey reluctantly asked, trying not to think of the choice to have more children being taken away from them if they ever changed their minds.

"Maybe someday... What did Doctor Marshall say?" Ian asked, sensing that Mickey didn't want to talk about completely eliminating their possibility of having more children somewhere down the line, any more.

"Pretty much said you're right; thinks I should try boxing to get out some aggression." Mickey explained through a yawn.

"We'll talk tomorrow." Ian murmured, watching Mickey closely as the brunette drifted off to sleep. He loved this man so fucking much it actually hurt sometimes, and he would do anything he had to to keep his Mickey happy.


	56. Father's Day

Despite Ian and Mickey not caring much about Father's Day, it had somehow become a favorite of Max's; the boy loved showing his fathers how much he appreciated them, and Father's Day was the best time of year to do just that. "This the color you wanted, Max?" Debbie asked her nephew as she stood in a craft store looking through different shades of blue paint for the present Max and Harlow planned on making for their fathers while they were with her for the night. Debbie adored how much her niece and nephews loved Mickey and Ian-she honestly did-but she still felt bad for her own daughter around this time every year; she just wished Derek would take some interest in their child like Mickey and Ian did with their three children.

"Yeah, that's it." Max said, examining the light blue paint Debbie had handed him sceptically. "Papa likes this color a whole lot." Debbie then realized why he wanted that particular shade; it was the exact same shade of blue as Mickey'-as well as the couple's two eldest children's-eyes.

"Green next?" Debbie guessed, knowing Mickey was rather fond of Ian's eyes, as well.

"Yep." Max said, placing the paint in their shopping cart while Harlow and Franny debated between two different plain white mugs, trying to decide on the best one, until Franny darted over to Max and whispered something in his ear. Max nodded with a wide smile on his face, but said nothing to his aunt.

"What was that all about?" Debbie asked conversationally as she and Max compared two shades of green paint.

"I can't tell you." Max said, switching out one shade of green for another, seemingly pleased with that one.

"We got it, Mommy!" Franny exclaimed, gently laying two mugs, fabric markers, and a plain white, heart shaped pillow in the cart. Debbie didn't say anything, because she was already fearing the worst; fearing that Franny wanted to make a gift for her own father, despite him wanting nothing to do with her. Debbie just smiled at her beautiful, sweet little girl and carried on walking with all three children at her heels.

 

"Do you know what Harlow and Franny are doin', Max?" Debbie asked the boy as he meticulously worked on side of Mickey's mug he was painting-Harlow having finished her sides of both mugs while Max was drawing out his "designs" with Franny-with delicate swirls of green, blue, black, silver, and gold.

"No." Max answered, cleaning his paint brush to change colors. "Does this look good, Aunt Debbie?" The eight-year-old boy asked his aunt, turning the mug to show Debbie his work. Debbie was actually fairly impressed by how well-done the boy's abstract design was.

"It looks beautiful, baby boy." Debbie assured him, setting the mug aside so the paint could dry, having already written "To: Daddy From: Max and Harlow, 2025" on the bottom of it in ceramic marker. "Max... Have I ever told you about Franny's Dad?" She asked quietly, glancing at her daughter's closed bedroom door.

"Not really." Max answered, moving on to Ian's mug. "Why?"

"Her Daddy doesn't talk to Franny, and she hasn't seen her Daddy since she was younger than Harlow." Debbie explained, causing Max to look rather angry.

"That's stupid! You should love your kids!" Max exclaimed, clenching his tiny jaw. "He's stupid and you and Franny are too good for him." Max decided, keeping his primary focus on his painting. Debbie just nodded, agreeing with her nephew.

 

"Hey, guys!" Mickey and Ian greeted in unison as Debbie, Max, Harlow, and Franny entered Mickey and Ian's house the next morning.

"We got presents!" Harlow exclaimed, handing Mickey one of the two little bags she was holding as Max handed the bag he was carrying to Ian.

"Thank you!" Mickey exclaimed, taking the hand-painted mug out of the gift bag and examining each of his eldest two children's artwork. "You guys did awesome!" Debbie noticed Harlow passing the other bag to Franny, but kept watching as Ian took his own mug out of the gift bag in his hands.

"This is great; thank you two very much!" Ian excitedly chimed in, kissing Max and Harlow's cheeks.

"Mommy?" Franny shyly called, tugging on the edge of Debbie's Maxi dress. "I... I don't really know my Daddy, but I don't have to, 'cause I have you; you're my Mommy and my Daddy, so... Happy Father's Day." Franny said, passing the gift bag in her own tiny hand to her mother. Debbie stared at her daughter for a moment before pulling out the heart-shaped pillow that had been brightly colored with "I love you, Mommy" written on it.

"Thank you, sweetie." Debbie rasped, picking up her daughter and hugging her close to her own chest, silently thanking God for her baby girl. Max was so right; Derek was stupid and didn't deserve this beautiful little girl in his life if he couldn't appreciate her the way Debbie did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the long wait, but things got rough for awhile and-despite not wanting to go into too much detail-I still feel like I should explain to an extent. I had a death in the family during the Holiday season and it took it's toll on me; emotionally and creatively, and I'm just now getting back to normal. Anyway, leave me some comment and let me know what you thought of this chapter. Much love!


	57. Kids Say The Damndest Things-Part Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm working on the first chapter of their Disneyland trip, but I wanted another short, funny chapter with Mickey and Ian tweeting about their kids. I hope you guys enjoy!

_ian_gallagher: Harlow: "Papa, can Jake go to Disney?" Me: "I don't think we can bring dogs." Harlow: "He can wear clothes! They won't know!"_

_Mick.gallagher: I have three little kids  and a giant kid I sadly married all running around screaming Disney songs... Is it bedtime yet? Or too late for a divorce?_

_Ian_gallagher: Not trying to brag, but Harlow is totally blown away by my ability to sing "Be Prepared" from Lion King... My singing is absolutely NOT why Key's crying._

_Mick.gallagher: Max: "Dad, I know it's not REALLY Spiderman at Disney World." Me: "You do?" Max: "Spiderman is too busy to go to Disney World." Damn, kid's smart._

_Ian_gallagher: My husband works outside all day and is still pale. Harlow thinks he's a vampire, Max thinks he's a ginger._

_Mick.gallagher: Cian's been babbling "Dada" all day. It'd be cute, if it wasn't only when he was hungry or needed his diaper changed._

_Ian_gallagher: Had to make a new rule; you can't cut the dogs' hair._

_Mick.gallagher: overheard this; Harlow: "You're Dad's husband." Ian: "I am." Harlow: "And my butt wiper." In case he forgets his place._

_Ian_gallagher: My kids are great; they let me sleep in on my day off. Just kidding, Harlow screamed "What the fuck!_ _" to wake me up._

_Mick.gallagher: Max: "We lived in Dad's belly." Harlow: "Was he fat?" Thanks, Ladybug; feeling the love._

_Ian_gallagher: Love the looks people give me when my daughter screams profanities, my oldest son says something sarcastic, and my youngest son just screams... Makes parenting worth it._

_mick.gallagher: Max: "I'm gonna be in third grade next year." Me: "Yeah, you are." Max: "I think I should get a tattoo 'cause I'm grown up." Not happening._

_Ian_gallagher: Max: "Does Harlow go to school next year?" Me: "Yeah, she starts preschool." Max: "She's got it easy."_

_Mick.gallagher: Sometimes my kids drive me nuts, then I find Harlow sleeping in the boys' bedroom floor holding Max's hand and I forget they're crazy._

_Ian_gallagher: I am an adult with a husband and three kids, and I just cried watching Lilo Stitch. Yep, total grown up._

_Mick.gallagher: Harlow's been showing Cian Disney characters all day and he calls them all "duck."... So proud._


	58. The Happiest Place On Earth-Part One

Word to the wise; do  _not_ wake four children under the age of ten up before seven in the morning and shuffle them through airport security if you want them to all remain calm and quiet. While Mickey and Ian were managing their three children alright-not great, but none of their kids had thrown a tantrum, yet-Mandy and Lip were having no such luck; Arya was a mess and neither of the poor girl's parents were having any luck calming her down.

"I can hold Key and you can put her in the stroller, Mands." Mickey offered, gesturing to where Cian was sleeping in the double stroller Ian had purchased for their vacation. "Kid can play with Harlow and might end up takin' a nap." Mickey glanced over at Ian as the redhead shifted an incredibly tired Max on his hip, glad their children weren't causing a scene like Arya was.

"Why is she actin' like this? She never cries this much!" Mandy sighed, pulling her hair out of her daughter's tight fists.

"She woke up at six-thirty and we brought her to a bright, loud place, Mandy." Ian deadpanned, just as tired as his eldest son and in no mood to deal with anyone's shit, today. "Look, give her a doll, put her in the stroller with Harlow, and let her calm down." Ian said, leaving no room for argument as Mickey picked up their sleeping ten-month-old.

"Why the Hell are your kids so calm?" Lip asked as he started to push the stroller, observing how his niece and nephews were all remaining relatively content.

"Max and Harlow are old enough to understand why we're here and Key can sleep through just about anything." Mickey said, shifting Cian higher in his arms.

"Lucky bastards." Mandy mumbled, wishing her daughter would at least fall asleep like her youngest cousin. But for now, she was just glad Arya had stopped screaming.

 

"Why do I gotta take my shoes off?" Max mumbled as he removed his black and red Converse.

"'Cause they gotta make sure there's nothin' dangerous in them." Mickey replied, passing Cian to his husband long enough to remove his own shoes.

"Why would there be somethin' dangerous in my shoes?" Max asked, pushing his glasses back into place as he looked up at Mickey. 

"Some bad people try to hide stuff any place they can get it, bud." Ian answered for his son, removing Cian's little sandals before passing the sleeping infant back to his husband and quickly removing Harlow's sandals from the sleeping toddler's feet.

"That's dumb." Max replied, reaching out to take Mickey's free hand as they waited to walk through the metal detector.

"Yeah, it is." Mickey agreed, glancing back at Mandy and Lip-both much calmer now that Arya had stopped crying and fallen asleep-as they copied the rest of the Gallaghers.

"When are we gonna be at Disney World?" Max asked his parents, already a bit impatient to get to the theme park.

"We'll be on the plane for a little over two and a half hours." Lip informed his nephew as Mandy, Mickey, Max, and himself watched Ian push the stroller holding the two sleeping girls through the metal detector. "How the hell are those two still sleeping?"

"Ian can keep the kids sleepin' no matter what." Mickey replied with a shrug, secretly wondering what sort of superpower his husband had when it came to sleeping children, himself.

"Stop, dammit!" Harlow shouted as Ian tried to get her shoes back on her feet, breaking the spell the family was under.

"At least one of yours is a menace like mine." Mandy giggled, watching as Ian-face red with embarrassment-tried to keep Harlow from cussing, anymore. 'Let the family fuckin' fun begin.' Mickey sarcastically thought as he walked through the detector with Cian in one arm and Max holding on to his other hand.

 

"You gonna be okay next to Uncle Lip and Aunt Mandy, Chipmunk?" Mickey asked his son as they finally boarded the plane at nine-thirty in the morning.

"Yeah, I'm okay, Dad." Mickey tried not to show how sad it made him that Max had recently started calling him "Dad" instead of "Daddy" as he handed his eldest son his tablet and Spiderman blanket; Max was growing up far too fast for Mickey's liking, and it broke his heart a little more every time he noticed a change in the boy who-it seemed-had been a chubby-cheeked newborn just yesterday. Where the Hell had the last eight and a half years gone? "Don't forget-"

"To chew my gum real hard when we take off." Max finished Mickey's sentence for him, having been reminded several times over the past week to do so to prevent his ears from popping when the atmospheric pressure changed once the plane was in the air.

"Yep." Mickey said with a smirk, ruffling Max's hair before taking his seat between Harlow-seated next to the window-and Ian. "Kid's growin' up too damn fast." Mickey lamented to Ian as the redhead passed Cian-now awake and laughing happily-over to Mickey.

"I know; hard to believe he's gonna be nine this year." Ian agreed, looking over at were Max was curling himself up in his blanket. "Feels like I blinked and he went from a chubby four-year-old to a third grader."

"Yeah." Mickey replied, looking into Cian's wide, green eyes. "Don't grow up on Daddy and Papa as fast as your brother and sister. Got it?"

"Dada!" Cian squealed happily, reaching out to touch Mickey's nose.

"He's learnin' a lot faster than Harlow did; she didn't talk until she was one." Ian observed, looking at his daughter as she played with her favorite doll, oblivious to the rest of the world around her.

"Max was an early talker, too." Mickey replied, chuckling under his breath as Ian handed Cian his Mickey Mouse toy and the infant stared at the thing as if it were the greatest thing he'd ever seen. "Think Harlow was just bein' stubborn."

"Just like her Daddy." Ian joked, making silly faces at Cian.

"Daddy, are we gonna see sharks?" Harlow asked, turning her head just enough to look at her parents.

"Why, Ladybug?" Mickey asked, already expecting a crazy answer from their resident wild child.

"I wanna ride a shark." She replied as if it were the most obvious answer.

"I don't think so." Mickey laughed, loving how imaginative Harlow's mind was. The Gallagher family listened quietly to the flight attendants went through safety instructions and the pilot announcing takeoff before Ian handed Max and Harlow each a piece of gum and Mickey had Cian copying exaggerated faces to keep the ten-month-old from coping with an ear ache for their whole vacation. This would be a strange, exciting week for all four children, and Mickey and Ian couldn't wait to see their little faces light up with each new experience. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So far I have their Disneyland Vacation planned out for four to five parts, so there is still a bit to go on it. Leave me some comments to let me know what you thought of this chapter. Much love!


	59. Happiest Place On Earth-Part Two

Max and Harlow barely allowed Ian and Mickey to dress Cian-let alone themselves-the first day they woke up in Orlando. They had spent the majority of the day yesterday after the plane landed-and everyone had gotten a little bit of sleep and an hour and fifteen minutes in an Uber-at the beach, but luckily none of the kids-or Ian-had burnt through their sunscreen. "Dad, Papa! Hurry up!" Max whined as Mickey and Ian threw their clothes on.

"Give us a second, Max." Mickey said calmly, trying to get his shorts and shoes on before Max crawled out of his own skin. "Babe, did you give Max his meds?"

"Yeah; got his instant relief pills in the diaper bag, too." Ian replied, quickly changing his shirt. "Okay. Who's ready to go to Disney World?!" The two eldest Gallagher children cheered and Cian laughed at their excitement. This would be a fun day. At least, Ian hoped.

 

"Dad, can we go on the Haunted Mansion ride?" Max asked as they walked into the park, all of the children in awe as they took in the sites, sounds, and smells of the colorful, kid-centric amusement park.

"If your Papa'll ride it with you so I can stay with Key and Harlow." Mickey offered, pushing the stroller holding his and Ian's youngest two children as Mandy walked next to him pushing the stroller holding her own daughter.

"Mickey!" Harlow shouted, causing Mickey to snap his head down to look at his daughter, shocked that she'd call him by his first name.

"Mickey mouse, babe." Ian laughed, unstrapping his daughter from the stroller so the girl could get a picture with the anthropomorphic Disney icon. "Stay with Papa, got it, Ladybug?" Ian asked, taking Harlow's hand and allowing Max to take his other.

"Come on, little Mouse; time to meet Mickey Mouse!" Mickey said, carrying Cian over to where his siblings were waiting to take a picture with Mickey Mouse.

"They're so damn precious." Mandy commented as Ian and Mickey both snapped pictures of their children.

"They act up sometimes, but for the most part they're good kids." Mickey replied, smiling at Cian as the baby touched Mickey Mouse's nose.

_Mick (9:15 AM): [Multimedia attachment] Kids got pretty excited when they saw Mickey Mouse._

Mickey had to smile at his kids-both boys in their Mickey Mouse shirts, black shorts, black sandals, and aviator sunglasses, and Harlow in her Elsa tank top, cutoff denim shorts, glittery blue sandals, and a pair of purple sunglasses-smiling broadly at Mickey Mouse in his picture; God, he fucking loved these kids so much.

_Fi (9:17 AM): I better get a damn picture of the girls with Anna and Elsa._

"Fiona wants a picture of Harlow and Arya with Anna and Elsa." Mickey relayed to his sister, husband, and Brother-in-law.

"Better go find some princesses for our girls." Lip commented, scooping his niece up when she ran at the adults, rambling about meeting Mickey Mouse. "On to the rides!" Lip boomed, lifting Harlow onto his shoulders and running off with the youngest redheaded Gallagher.

"My brother stole our daughter." Ian whispered to his husband as he walked back over to Mickey with Cian in his arms.

"Hey, they only got one kid; they can take one of ours off our hands for a few minutes." Mickey chuckled, taking Max's hand as the Gallagher's continued to explore the park.

 

"Tea cups, Daddy!" Harlow gasped, pulling Mickey towards the Tea cups ride.

"Okay, okay, we can go on the Tea cups." Mickey said, allowing his four-year-old to drag him around. He may still look like a Southside thug, but Mickey could admit that he was completely wrapped around his two little redheads and his baby boy's fingers, and he liked it that way.

"Cup?" Arya asked, looking up hopefully at her mother.

"Yeah, we'll ride the cups, baby girl." Mandy agreed, picking her daughter up to get in line.

"You wanna ride the Tea cups, Max?" Ian asked, knowing his son was looking forward to the scarier rides.

"Uhm... Yeah." Max said, shocking Ian slightly.

"I'll fuckin' hurl if I spin like that, so I'll watch Mouse." Lip offered, knowing he couldn't handle spinning rides.

"Thanks. He's got some cookies in his diaper bag if he gets fussy." Ian informed his brother, knowing Cian would probably get hungry, soon.

"Daddy?" Harlow whispered, gently tugging on Mickey's hand.

"Yeah, Ladybug?" Mickey asked, looking down at his daughter as she removed her sunglasses and looked up at him with wide, blue eyes.

"Are we gonna stay to see fireworks?" Harlow asked, obviously having heard the family in front of them discussing it.

"If you guys aren't too tired, tonight; if not, we'll stay another night." Mickey offered the young girl, knowing Harlow adored fireworks.

"The fireworks aren't just tonight?!" Harlow asked through a gasp, her eyes even wider.

"They have fireworks every night." The man in front of Mickey informed Harlow before turning to smile at Mickey. "Sorry to eavesdrop, but she sounded so excited about it."

"Not a problem, man." Mickey said, though he picked Harlow up and perched her on his hip; he didn't like the intensity in his stare and-even though it was directed at him and not his daughter-it made him too uncomfortable to leave his daughter on her feet.

"Mick, babe, you want me to take her?" Ian asked from behind Mickey, placing a comforting-and possessive-hand on the small of Mickey's back.

"Nah, we're good." Mickey replied, turning his head to kiss Ian's cheek. This was their fucking vacation and their kids were having fun; they weren't gonna let some creepy asshole ruin it for them.

"We're next! We're next!" Harlow shouted, bouncing in Mickey's arms as they finally boarded the ride. "Daddy! We got a purple cup!" Harlow exclaimed as they took their seats and Mickey tried to ignore Lip taking their picture. Mickey didn't care if Lip now had photographic evidence of him sitting in a purple Tea cup; his daughter-all three of his children, for that matter-were happy and that's all that matters.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part two of their Disney vacation is officially done! Let me know what you thought of this chapter! Much love!


	60. Happiest Place On Earth-Part Three

Mickey and the kids were all pretty exhausted by the time the sun started to set; they had spent the whole day riding kid friendly rides-the Dumbo's Flying Elephants, It's A Small World, Toy Story Midway Mania, and Prince Charming's Regal Carousel-and had eaten far too much junk food for most of the family to properly function afterwards. "We can ride the big rides, tommorow, right?" Max asked, holding his arms up slightly to silently ask Ian to carry him.

"The ones you're tall enough to ride." Ian replied, picking his eight-year-old son up without any sign that the boy might been a bit too heavy, which was surprising because-even if Max was still rather small-he had recently put on some weight. Max was up to fifty-two pounds-which was still at the lower end of the average weight percentile for his age-but it was enough to make carrying him him around a bit difficult.

"I'm not very tall." Max said in agreement, resting his head on Ian's shoulder. "I'm little; like Dad."

"Thanks, brat." Mickey sarcastically replied as he shifted Harlow-who was already half asleep-in his arms. "Guess they're not gonna make it to the fireworks, tonight, huh?"

"Max is the only one awake." Lip said, tilting his head towards the stroller Cian was peacefully snoring away in. "Ari fell asleep when the other kids were on the Carousel."

"Key didn't make it much longer." Mandy laughed as she looked down at the adorable brunette baby. "How the Hell did you two manage three kids today?"

"Key's happy about everything, Max was gonna do whatever made Harlow happy, and Harlow just wanted to ride the rides." Mickey said quietly, glancing at where Harlow had finally fallen asleep on his shoulder. "Made it pretty fuckin' easy."

"Can you two clean up the language for a few hours a day while we're here?" Ian asked, looking around at the parents covering their children's ears. "I'd rather not get kicked out of Disney World over it."

"Who are you and what did you do with my husband?" Mickey jokingly asked, though he honestly didn't care if he had to clean up his language if it meant his babies would enjoy their vacation.

"I'm the man who wants my kids to be able to enjoy their time here." Ian sassed back, looking down at his phone. "Okay, Max should be able to ride everything except the Tomorrowland Speedway, Rock n' Roller coaster, Sum Of All Thrills, Primevil Whirl, Humunga Kowabunga, Keel Haul Falls, Mayday Falls, Storm Slides, and Ketchakiddee Creek." Ian rambled off.

"Sounds like a lot of the rides, man." Lip said, surprised that a kid's park had so many rides his nephew was too short for.

"Not really; he's really only an inch off for most of 'em that he can't ride, but most of the rides he's good to go on." Ian said, looking down at his son who had finally fallen asleep like his siblings and cousin.

"Kid's gonna lose his mind when he gets to ride the Tower of Terror." Mickey chuckled, imagining his son's face when he gets to ride the larger, more terrifying rides.

"The younger ones aren't gonna be able to ride those ones." Mandy said, wondering how they could take Max on the rides Harlow, Cian, and Arya were too small for.

"Mick and I can switch off on who goes with Max." Ian said with a shrug, glad to finally see the gates to the Theme park; he needs a damn shower and some sleep.

 

The Next Day

"Papa, we gotta ride Tower Terror at night!" Max exclaimed as they waited in the line for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train their second day-Mickey, Mandy, Lip, and the three younger children having went to a line for a ride they could go on-as he excitedly hung off his father's arm. "This is gonna be so much fun!"

"You're not scared?" Ian asked his son as they watched the train cars zoom by.

"No." Max laughed, doing pull ups on Ian's bicep. "Today is gonna be the best!"

"Why's that?" Ian asked the boy as he lowered Max to the ground.

"'Cause it's just me and you or me and Dad; I love Harlow and Cian, but they're both little, and we can't do stuff for bigger kids." Max said, nervously squeezing Ian's hand as they sat in a train car, ready for the ride to start. Ian felt bad that his son had to compromise on what he wanted to do because of his younger siblings, but today was all for Max. Max let out a tiny gasp as the ride started to move and the whistling of the seven dwarfs began as they went over hills, around corners, through the mines-with talking, moving animatronic Dwarfs and glowing jewels-and finally past the cabin-where a party seemed to be taking place inside-with Max slowly relaxing and starting to laugh and scream with the movements of the roller coaster.

 

"It was so fun, Dad! We went over a some really big hills and it wasn't scary!" Max babbled as the Gallagher family ate lunch. "The Evil Queen was outside the cabin, too!"

"Wow, bud! Sounds like you and Papa had a good time!" Mickey said, passing his son the ketchup bottle.

"Thank you." Max said around a mouthful of cheeseburger, pouring some ketchup on his plate for his fries. "It was real fun; you're gonna ride Space Mountain with me, right?" Max asked, popping a french fry in his mouth. The family went on Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin-without Lip and Cian, who Lip decided he was keeping with him to stay off the spinning rides-The Astro Orbiter, and Peter Pan's Flight before splitting up for one ride and meeting back up for lunch, and it was clear Max was having the time of his life, today.

"Promise." Mickey replied, loving the smile on Max's face.

"Can we come back when I'm big enough to ride Big Kid rides?" Harlow asked, trying to squirm away from Ian as he tried to wipe ketchup off her face. Though Mickey had been nervous about this trip, at first, he was so glad Ian had done this for their family.

 

Max was so excited to go on the Tower Of Terror that Lip and Mandy offered to take the three younger children to see the Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor Show so that both Mickey and Ian could ride with the boy. Max was fucking loving the look of the ride before they boarded the "Elevator", but seemed a little off as the ride it's self started. "You okay, Chipmunk?" Mickey whispered to his son, watching the boy's face closely.

"It's kinda scary." Max quietly admitted, clutching both of his parents' hands.

"It'll be fun once we start the exciting part of the ride." Ian promised, squeezing Max's hand back as the door opened, giving them a night-time few of the rest of the park.

"Wow." Max whispered, before delving into a squeal of delight as they began to drop. "This is awesome!" Max shouted, and his parents couldn't disagree more; it wasn't the ride that was awesome, but the child's genuine excitement. After all of the shit he'd been through, this trip had proven that Maxton Krew Gallagher was still the same, happy little boy he'd always been.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part Three is done! Leave me some comments to let me know what you thought of this chapter! Much Love!


	61. Happiest Place On Earth-Part Four

Mickey had to promise Max he would ride Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, and Tower Of Terror, again, before the kids left with Mandy and Lip, because Max knew that-with just his Aunt and Uncle watching four children-he would be stuck on "little kid rides" all day. "Five bucks says Max throws some kind of fit on Mandy and Lip." Mickey sighed as his husband dropped kisses down the right side of his neck.

"If he does Lip said he'd call us." Ian reassured the brunette man, tightening his arms around Mickey's waist. "So, no worrying for a few hours; kinda want my man all to myself for awhile."

"Fuckin' loser." Mickey chuckled, enjoying the feeling Ian's arms around him and his lips on his neck.

 

"Gonna go get us a few beers." Ian told his husband shortly after they'd taken a seat at a dive bar near their hotel. Mickey nodded, but was a bit too focused on the fact that his children were in a crowded amusement park with his sister and brother-in-law-who could barely handle their daughter-while he was sitting in a bar with his husband.

"Hey!" A voice Mickey only vaguely recognized called from over his shoulder before the man who had been staring at him and Harlow in line for the Tea Cups on their first day at Disney World slid into the booth across from Mickey. "What're you doin' here?" The man-a tall, rail-thin man with skin paler than Mickey's own and dull, mousy brown hair and grey eyes-asked, giving Mickey another strange smile.

"None of your fuckin' business." Mickey replied, wishing Ian would hurry the fuck up; this guy was straight up weird.

"Come on! We both know we had a moment at the park! So, why don't we have a little fun?" He asked, winking playfully at Mickey.

"One, I was with my fuckin' kid, two, I'm too damn old for you, and three, I'm married so fuck off." Mickey said, itching for a damn cigarette.

"I was with my little brother, but I could still tell you were into me." He said, ignoring the rest of Mickey's points. This guy was clearly young-probably no older than twenty-one years old-and couldn't seem to grasp that Mickey was in no way interested in him.

"Hey, baby. Sorry it took me so long; didn't think there'd be a damn line at noon." Ian apologized as he took a seat next to Mickey, sitting a beer in front of him and pecking his cheek softly.

"You're fine, babe." Mickey said, turning to face Ian and kissing his lips fully. The boy-which is exactly what this guy was-didn't seem to care that Mickey was now showering his husband with attention, because he wasn't leaving.

"You need me to start screwin' him on the table or are you gonna take a fuckin' hint and walk the fuck away, kid?" Ian asked through clenched teeth, pulling Mickey closer to himself with his eyes locked on the boy across the table from him.

"He can make his own choices, asswipe." The boy sneered before turning his attention back to Mickey.

"Already told you I'm fuckin' married, kid." Mickey replied easily, soaking up Ian's attention like a God damn sponge; he fucking loved that his husband was so possessive of him, and that he wanted to show everyone that Mickey was his. The kid rolled his eyes and mumbled "cock tease" under his breath before walking away and leaving the Gallagher men to finish their drinks.

 

"Fuck! Fuck, Ian, don't... Don't stop." Mickey panted as his husband fucked him in the shower of their hotel room, keeping his mouth on Mickey's neck. As much as both men loved their three kids, neither could deny how much they missed being able to fuck as often as they wanted.

"So fuckin' tight, Mick!" Ian groaned as he continued to pound into his husband's tight, hot body. "Fuck! I'm close." Mickey nodded, letting Ian know he was close, himself. Ian wrapped his right arm tighter around Mickey to keep him up against the wall and used his left hand to pump Mickey's leaking cock in time with his thrusts until both men came with moans of each other's names. "Shit, don't think I've ever left hickeys like that on you, before." Ian mused as he examined the series of marks he'd left on his husband's pale throat.

"Possessive asshole." Mickey chuckled as he was placed back on his feet, allowing Ian to be the sappy motherfucker he always is after intensely passionate sex. Even if Mickey, himself, wasn't as affectionate after having Ian fuck him, he loved the way Ian would shower him in attention and love.

 

"'Llo?" Mickey grumbled as he answered the phone, curled around Ian after another three rounds.

 _"Mick... Mick, y-you need to come get Harlow."_ Mandy stuttered, waking Mickey up completely.

"What the fuck happened to my kid, Amanda?!" Mickey asked through a growl, which woke Ian up.

 _"S-she tripped a-and her_ _ankle is seriously swollen."_ Mandy nervously informed her-clearly-pissed off older brother.  _"Mick, I'm-"_

"We'll be there in a minute. Get Harlow in one of the strollers and meet us at the gates." Mickey said, cutting his sister off and hanging the phone up before jumping to his feet and throwing his clothes back on.

"Mick, what's wrong?" Ian asked, fallowing his husband's example without knowing what was wrong with their only daughter.

"Harlow got hurt; we gotta go get her." Mickey said, leaving no room for argument from Ian. Even if spending time alone with Ian had been nice, Mickey knew something would go wrong; while Mandy and Lip were in no way bad parents, they were easily overwhelmed. Mickey felt so guilty about leaving his children with his unprepared sister and brother-in-law, but Mickey had no time to dwell on it; his baby girl needed her parents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One last part of the Disney vacation to go! Leave me some comments to let me know what you thought of this chapter. Much love!


	62. Happiest Place On Earth-Part Five

"Daddy!" Harlow sobbed as Mickey and Ian approached the gates to the park, her face red and eyes filled with tears as she reached for Mickey.

"Daddy's got you, Ladybug." Mickey soothed as he took his daughter into his arms, letting the little girl wrap her arms tightly around his neck and cry into his shoulder.

"How did this happen?" Ian demanded, looking between his brother and sister-in-law for answers as to how his baby girl got hurt.

"She saw this and took off runnin' in front of us," Lip said, holding out a stuffed Pumbaa toy. "We were takin' the kids into a gift shop and Harlow wanted to walk; when she saw it in the window she started running and tripped over the curb. Mandy called you guys as soon as we got Harlow up, and I ran in to get it for her real quick; figured after she got hurt she should at least get the toy she wanted." Lip explained as he passed the stuffed animal off to Harlow. Mickey felt a little bad blaming his sister and brother-in-law for something he and Ian had both told their children not to do more times than either of them could count, but he couldn't be mad at Harlow; the poor girl was clearly miserable.

"I-I'm s-sorry! I-I d-didn't mean to r-run o-off!" Harlow stuttered as she continued to whimper into Mickey's shoulder. She knew the rule; you always stay with an adult when you're in public.

"It's okay, Buggy." Mandy said, brushing red curls away from Harlow's eyes. "You were just excited."

"C-can Papa f-fix it?" Harlow asked, turning her head to look pleadingly at Ian.

"Yeah, Ladybug." Ian said, gently taking Harlow into his own arms. "We're gonna go back to the hotel and Papa'll fix it."

"Wait!" Max said, shyly passing a bag to Mickey before they could leave. "I used my Birthday money from Uncle Carl and got Harlow and Key presents." Max admitted, looking down at his feet. Max had been saving the money Carl gave him for his birthday-twenty-five dollars a year-since his fifth birthday, and always kept it in the little velcro Avengers wallet Ian had given him.

"You didn't have to do that, Max." Mickey said, shocked that Max had chosen to spend his birthday money on his siblings.

"It's okay; Harlow needed it." Perplexed by Max's response, Mickey opened the bag and pulled out a Princess Merida dress. "She looks just like Merida." Max said with a smile.

"Thank you, Max!" Harlow gasped, staring in awe at her costume.

"I got Key this." Max said, holding up Mickey Mouse ears with the word "mouse" written on the little hat.

"You're awesome, Max." Ian said, kneeling to kiss his son's cheek. The boy had spent the money he'd saved for over three years on his brother and sister, just because he thought they should have these little souvenirs. Max truly was an amazing little boy.

 

Two Days Later

Harlow's ankle turned out to be fine; she had just bruised it during her fall and she was back up and moving within hours. Since the girl was fine and Today was their last day at Disney World, she decided to wear her Merida costume and leave her wild red curls down, making her resemble the princess even more. "Mama, look! It's Merida!" A little boy screeched as he walked past a giggling Harlow. Max just preened, glad he'd made the right choice in a gift for his little sister as she danced around.

 

"You ready for this one, Chipmunk?" Mickey asked his son as they boarded Space Mountain. Max just nodded in excitement, watching and listening as the ride started to move, going through a flashing blue tunnel, up small hills, past "rocket ships", down steep inclines, around sharp turns, and-finally-through the flashing red tunnel, never once wiping the smile off his precious little face.

"Daddy! This is awesome!" Max shouted over and over again as the ride sped through the tracks. Mickey had never been a fan of Adrenaline-pumping rides-having gone on the Wave Swinger at Navy Pier when he was around Max's age with Iggy and nearly pissing his pants-but riding with Max? It was an amazing experience.

 

Max had quickly decided he was taking Ian on Splash Mountain-which Mickey was fine with, because he didn't feel like getting drenched-and the two redheads had taken off the board the water ride. "Papa, stop!" Max whined as Ian applied more sunscreen to his skin.

"Nope." Ian replied, smirking at the scowl on Max's little face. "You're about to get drenched, kid. You remember what happened when you went swimming with Uncle Liam last summer?" Ian asked, knowing Max would remember the sunburn he'd gotten when Liam-who didn't get sunburnt as easily as Mickey, Ian, or their three children-forgot to remind Max to reapply sunscreen.

"Fine." Max muttered, allowing Ian to spray more sunscreen on his arms. They finally climbed into the boat for the ride, hearing annoying fucking banjo music as they slowly moved up hills and through dark tunnels with brightly lit animatronics playing more music before quickly descending hills and being splashed mercilessly by the water around their boat. "This is the best vacation, ever!" Despite his "Honeymoon day" with Mickey being interrupted by Harlow's injury, Ian had to agree; this trip had been amazing, if only for how happy it had made all three of his babies.

 

"Ready?" Mickey quietly asked Harlow as he sat her on his shoulders so she could look out over the park.

"Yeah! Maxy, get up!" Harlow ordered, pointing to Ian's free shoulders-considering Arya was on Lip's and Cian was seated on Mandy's shoulders-in an effort to ensure her brother got a good look at the fireworks, as well. Max obeyed, allowing Ian to swing him onto his shoulders. "Look!" Harlow yelled, pointing up at the sky where the Firework show had started. All four children were amazed, and the adults were all smiling at the utterly bewildered little humans staring up at the vibrant colors flashing across the night sky. This trip had been a resound success for the Gallagher family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sad to say it, but the Gallagher family's time at Disney World is over! Leave me some comments to let me know what you thought of this chapter, or the whole trip in total! Much Love!


	63. A Million Voices In My Head, Scream Out The Words I should've Said

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning: this chapter is going to be a little angsty.

By the time the Gallagher family had been back in Illinois for two weeks, Mickey realized something just... Wasn't right with his husband; Ian was quiet, always tired, and didn't interact with their three children in the same animated fashion he normally did. "Is Papa okay?" Max asked one night after-for the third time that week-Ian had went straight to bed after returning home from work.

"Yeah, he's fine, Max." Mickey assured their eldest child, though he wasn't so sure; Ian's behavior seemed like he was approaching a Depressive episode, and the idea of their children seeing Ian more dead than alive scared Mickey shitless. "Hey, you wanna go spend the night with Aunt Debbie?" Mickey asked, already reaching for his phone before Max had even smiled and nodded in response.

 _"Hey, Mick! What's up?"_ Debbie asked as soon as she answered the phone, her voice as sweet and carefree as ever.

"Hey... Ian's pretty warn out. You care if Max and Harlow stay with you, tonight?" Mickey asked, knowing Debbie-or any of the other Gallagher siblings-would understand what he meant.

 _"I'll come get them as soon as Franny's done takin' her bath. I can call Fiona or Lip to help out with Cian, if you want."_ Debbie offered, knowing Mickey wouldn't want to leave Ian alone for too long if this really was Depression.

"Yeah, call Fi. Thanks, Little Red; I owe you." Mickey said, thankful his sister-in-law was always there to help him with his two eldest children.

 _"Screw that shit; you're family, Mickey. And Franny's missed Max, anyway."_ Debbie laughed, clearly trying to lighten the mood just a bit.

"Call me when you're on your way and I'll make sure they're ready to go." Mickey said, wishing he could laugh with Debbie, but he knew she'd understand; when Ian was depressed, Mickey worried far too much to joke and laugh.

 

"Be good for Aunt Debbie, okay? Harlow, that means no bitin' Franny or Max." Mickey instructed his two eldest children, checking their backpacks to ensure they had everything they needed for the night.

"No biting. Got it!" Harlow chirped, kissing Mickey's nose as he put the sequenced pink and purple bag back on her shoulders. "Love you, Daddy."

"Love you, too, Ladybug." Mickey whispered, kissing the crown of fiery red curls secured in w messy bun on his daughter's head. "Make sure you take your medicine, okay, Chipmunk?" Mickey reminded his son, slinging the boy's Batman backpack-that he always took for his "sleepovers" with his aunt-onto his back with an exaggerated grunt of effort.

"I will. Love you, Dad." Max said, wrapping his still small arms around his father's neck.

"I love you, too." Mickey whispered into Max's ear as he hugged his little boy. Once Mickey released Max and Debbie took his and Ian's first two children-as well as her own daughter-out or the house, the weight of a possibly depressed Ian seemed to crash onto Mickey's shoulders.

"You go be with Ian; I got this little rascal." Fiona said, lifting a giggling Cian over her head. Cian was such a happy baby, it sometimes shocked Mickey that this little boy was his; sure, Max was content and Harlow laughed a lot, but Cian never cried, and-once he'd learned how to do it-that little smile never left his face.

"Yeah, okay. If you need any help with him-" Fiona cut Mickey off with a snort of laughter.

"Only time he ever even  _sounds_ unhappy is when he's laughin' too hard and screams." Fiona pointed out, dodging the spit-covered hand headed for her mouth. "Chunky Monkey eats a lot, likes cuddles, yells "Dada!" when he needs his diaper changed, doesn't let go of his Mickey Mouse, and likes that one Kansas song when he's bein' rocked to sleep."

"Carry On My Wayward Son." Mickey said, though he knew Fiona was right; Cian was just a genuinely happy baby, and taking care of him wasn't much of a challenge compared to his older sister. "He's been tryin' to crawl, but when he tries to get up Jake gets a little antsy and don't want anyone too close to him."

"So, the biggest issue I'll have is the huge ass Nanny dog." Fiona said, actually making Mickey laugh at the accuracy of the statement; Though Jake stood over two feet tall on all four legs-making it to Ian's shoulders when on his back legs, alone-and weighed eighty-eight pounds, the dog was more devoted to the three Gallagher children than any other animal ever could be. Ian had often said the reason Jake was a good Guard Dog was that he wanted no one he didn't trust near "his babies" and Mickey had to agree; no one Jake didn't know could get close to their kids-particularly Harlow and Cian, since Max had his own Guardian in the form of Hyde-without Ian and Mickey assuring the giant teddy bear of a dog they were safe.

"Okay, that's cute as fuck." Fiona mused as she laid Cian on his mat on the floor, only for Jake to lay down so the baby could scratch his ears. "Hyde like that with him?"

"You kidding? That dog is Max's dog, and he don't fuckin' forget it." Mickey said, patting Jake's head before walking back to his and Ian's bedroom. "Hey, baby." Mickey said softly, seeing that Ian was curled around himself with Hyde-who Max had instructed to stay with Ian-laying behind him with his scruffy blonde head on Ian's side. "Guess Hyde really does listen to Max."

"He's a good dog." Ian said, which made Mickey relax a bit; at least Ian was still talking, if only to praise their son's ten-inch-tall, twelve pound protector.

"He is." Mickey agreed, sitting next to Ian's legs and reaching back to give Hyde a scratch on his neck as a "thank you" for keeping Ian company. "How're you feelin'?"

"Not depressed, just... Tired." Ian said, seemingly hoping to reassure his husband that his medication wasn't failing him. "Just feel like I need to sleep for a damn week."

"But not like when you're depressed?" Mickey asked, just to make sure.

"No; I don't feel sad, or worthless, or like I have a million people talkin' in my head, tellin' me all the shit I've ever done wrong. I just feel really tired." Ian said, reaching out and taking Mickey's hand. "Kids aren't scared or anything, right?"

"Max was worried about you, but he worries about everyone." Mickey said, knowing it was true; Max was their worrier, Harlow was their little attention seeker, and Cian just wanted to laugh and enjoy life. They had three kids with very different personalities, and that made trying to use the same tactics they'd picked up with all three a but difficult, but they made it work.

"He does... Man, how the hell is he so awesome?" Ian asked with a tiny smirk.

"Ask myself that a lot. He's such s great kid." Mickey replied. "Get some sleep, okay? Hyde's takin' my spot, anyway." Mickey said, standing up and making his way back to the living room with Fiona and Cian. At least he knew his husband wasn't depressed... At least not yet.


	64. I Could Tell You So Much, But We've Both Heard Enough

Ian was wrong; he stopped talking about halfway through the night, didn't react to Mickey, Fiona, Cian, or either dog before eight o'clock hit.  _"Aunt Debbie said me and Harlow are goin' to Uncle Lip and Aunt Mandy's house, tomorrow... Why can't we go home?"_ Max asked when he called Mickey to tell him goodnight.

"'Cause Papa's sick, Chipmunk." Mickey said, knowing Ian wouldn't want their children seeing him like this. "Look, I'll come see you and Harlow after work, okay, baby boy?" Mickey promised, knowing he would miss their children if he didn't see them for the duration of Ian's depression.

 _"Okay. Harlow wants to talk to you... I love you, Dad."_ Max sighed sadly, clearly wishing he could go home. Mickey wished he was home, too.

"I love you, too, Max. Let me talk to your sister." Mickey replied, missing his two eldest babies more than he expected after only a few hours.

 _"Hi, Daddy! Are you gonna come spend the night with us at Aunt Mandy's?"_ Harlow asked, making Mickey's heart clench; he loved that little girl so much it actually fucking hurt.

"No, Ladybug; Daddy's gotta stay home and take care of Papa, Mouse, Jake, and Hyde." Mickey replied, looking into the bedroom he shared with his husband, watching Fiona gently comb her fingers through Ian's fiery red hair. "But Daddy promises he'll come see you and Maxy tomorrow."

 _"Okay, Daddy. I gotta go to bed. I love you!"_ Harlow chirped before passing the phone off.

 _"Hey, Mick, I got Max's instant relief pills off Fiona; I guess he took 'em out of his backpack so he could put his tablet in there without smashin' the pills and forget to get them back in. You were checkin' Harlow's bag and Fiona found them on the table."_ Debbie explained, knowing her brother-in-law would worry about his kids all night.

"Thanks, Debs." Mickey sighed, flopping down on the couch and watching Jake and Cian as the baby slowly tried to get onto his hands and knees.

 _"Just glad I could help. Keep me updated on Ian."_ Debbie gently ordered her brother-in-law.

"I will. Talk to you later." Mickey said before hanging up the phone, his eyes still on his youngest child as Cian finally managed to get onto his hands and knees. "You can do this, Mouse." Mickey muttered, needing  _something_ good to come out of today. Cian shakily moved forward, Jake never once leaving the youngest Gallagher's side.

"Holy shit." Fiona mumbled as she stepped out of the bedroom, catching Cian's movements as he started to giggle. "He's crawling!" Fiona nearly shouted, hoping Ian would hear her and manage to get himself out of bed; he shouldn't miss the first time his son crawled just because he was Frank and Monica's only child stuck with the woman's fucked up genes.

"You're doin' great, Key." Mickey praised as he filmed a quick video of the baby slowly crawling with Jake at his side. "Ian'll want to see this." Mickey explained as he ended the video, nervously glancing towards the bedroom, wondering when Ian's medication would kick in and end the depression trapping his husband. At least he'd managed to capture the moment so Ian could see it for himself once he was well, again.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I'm going to do something a little different with the next chapter, and I'm just hoping it goes over well. Leave me some comments to let me know what you thought of this chapter! Much love!


	65. Family Guardian

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This whole chapter will be a look at the Gallagher family through the eyes of their loyal Guard Dog, Jake.

Jake was a good dog; he was loyal, he was fiercely protective of his kids, and he loved his masters completely. He made sure he was always there when anyone in his family needed him, but when the man who brought him into their home and gave him a family to love him-Ian-was laying in bed and couldn't move? Jake felt helpless; all he wanted to do was protect his family, and he couldn't do that for Ian, right now. He had taken a sliver of wood to his paw and brick to the hip for his family, but he couldn't make Ian feel any better.

So-since Jake couldn't help Ian-he did what he'd always done for Ian; he kept a close eye on the kids Ian and Mickey had entrusted Jake to protect. He stayed at Cian's side once Harlow and Max left, and made sure nothing happened to the littlest Gallagher; he'd never let anything happen to this family if he could help it. Once Cian had started to crawl around and Mickey had moved to the floor to play with the baby, Jake went to the bedroom to check on Ian, finding him in the same spot with Hyde still curled up to him.

 _Please move. Please get up with us._ Jake's whines conveyed his thoughts as he nudged Ian's hand with his nose. He just wanted his master to be okay, and it was clear Hyde wanted the same thing.

"He's okay, Jake." Mickey whispered when he walked into the bedroom, taking a seat next to Ian's legs and reaching out to pet Jake's head lovingly. "Ian's gonna be just fine." Mickey said, clearly about to cry. Jake laid his head on Mickey's leg, hoping to comfort his other master as Hyde moved to lick Ian's arm.

 _I love you. I'll keep you all safe. No one will hurt you._ Jake knew his family needed him, and he would protect Ian while Ian was down. After all, Jake was a good dog.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure why, but I really wanted to do a chapter where we saw how Jake felt about Ian's depression. Leave me some comments and let me know what you think of this chapter. Much love!


	66. I Need A Little Space To Breathe

On the third day of Ian not moving from their bed, Mickey felt like he was falling apart; he was trying to keep up with his own job, make time for his eldest two kids-who had went from Debbie's apartment, to Lip and Mandy's new house, and then to Kev and Vee's place when Amy and Gemma begged if the the kids could stay with them-caring for Cian, the dogs, and keeping an eye on his husband, and he felt like he was being torn in a thousand different directions all at once. And-considering Carl was at their house, today, to help with Ian and Cian-he decided he needed a few minutes outside to have a cigarette and just take a breather while Cian napped and Carl sat in the couple's bedroom with Ian. Mickey loved his husband and his kids-fuck, he was pretty certain no one could deny that, anymore-but he still felt overwhelmed at times like this; times when Ian was trapped inside his own head, their kids didn't understand why they couldn't even  _talk_ to their father, and Cian-becoming more confident in his movements as he crawled with every passing day-needed constant supervision.

"He's sleepin'." Carl said quietly, stepping onto the porch with his own cigarette in his hand. "He at least rolled over."

"That's good." Mickey muttered, flipping his ashes. "He talk?"

"Told me to stop touchin' his back 'cause he's sweatin' balls." Carl chuckled, plopping into the chair next to Mickey. "His exact words were "I'm sweaty and gross, so stop touchin' me, asshole." and then he rolled over and fell asleep." Mickey was just glad Ian had even spoken, and let out a sigh of relief at Carl's words. "Thanks, man."

"For what? Didn't fuckin' do anything." Mickey muttered, unsure of why Carl would thank him.

"You gave Ian a chance to be a Dad when he found you and Max, took him back, married his ass, gave him two more kids, and you just spent three damn days takin' care of him when he was depressed; man, someone needed to thank you for the shit you do for him and those kids." Carl said seriously, eyes locked on Mickey's. "So thanks. For bein' there for my brother. And, ya know, my niece and nephews are pretty damn cute."

"Got enough Gallagher blood to make up for me." Mickey joked, though he was well aware Max and Cian both looked much more like him than they did Ian.

"Harlow, maybe, but the boys both look like your pasty white ass." Carl cackled, making Mickey, himself, laugh. "Always thought bein' a carrier was a fuckin' curse, you know? Didn't think it'd be worth all the shit you go through bein' pregnant... You make it seem like an awesome deal, though."

"Didn't know you were one." Mickey admitted. Though Mickey was aware that the more male children a family has, the chances of a carrier being born into the family increases, but he had no idea Carl Gallagher was one.

"Found out when I was in Military school; I told Fiona there was no point in me gettin' tested 'cause Lip and Ian weren't carriers, but when I got to the school they did a bunch of blood screenings to make sure I wasn't sick or some shit and when the results came back... Ian told us about the baby-about Max-bein' out there, somewhere with you. I just didn't understand, I guess, 'cause I didn't get why anyone would do it." Carl explained.

"Thought the same shit when I was younger. But then I got pregnant with Max and... I don't know, man, I just couldn't think about not havin' my baby." Mickey replied, thinking back to how terrified he'd been when he found out he was a carrier, and then thinking about how differently he thought of it when he found out he was pregnant with his first child.

"I'm not gay, so if I want a kid... Shit, I'd have to adopt or ask Lip or Ian to be a fuckin' sperm donor." Carl cringed at the thought of asking one of his brothers to donate sperm.

"Unless your girl couldn't get pregnant. Then? You'd do it without thinkin' twice." Mickey knew Carl-had known the kid since he was nine years old-and knew Carl was one of the more selfless Gallaghers; he cared more about the happiness of others than himself.

"Yeah." Carl agreed, clearly deep in thought.

"You got a girl you ain't told this crazy ass family about?" Mickey asked, stubbing his cigarette out in the ashtray on the patio table.

"No... If I tell you somethin', you gotta promise not to tell Ian." Carl practically begged, staring at Mickey with wide, pleading green eyes.

"Sure, man." Mickey agreed, already worried for his brother-in-law.

"Fiona wanted a baby-and I know you knew that part-but... But she can't get pregnant. I thought about carryin' one for her, but..." Carl didn't have to finish his sentence, because Mickey understood; he didn't think he could carry a baby for nine months and then hand it over to someone else, even his sister.

"Fiona's told me, before, that she'd be good if it didn't happen, Carl. She got to be a Mom to five kids without the fuckin' nausea and weight gain." Mickey said, trying to comfort Carl. "I'm gonna go check on Ian." Mickey mumbled, slowly making his way back into the house, only to find Ian standing in the kitchen with Cian in his arms. "Hey."

"Got up and he was just layin' in the playpen starin' at Jake; figured I could handle givin' him lunch." Ian said, still sounding a bit tired.

"Yeah." Mickey replied, smiling despite the tears in his eyes. Fuck, had he missed Ian being up and about with him and their babies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any of you who fallow Noel Fisher on Instagram and have seen his pictures he's been posting of himself as a kid? That is EXACTLY what I've had in my head for what Max looks like in this series. Leave me some comments to let me know what you thought of this chapter. Much love!


	67. Addicted

"How long were you home from Florida before falling into this depression, Ian?" Doctor Holloway asked Ian as he sat in her her office, nervously toying with a frayed edge on his jeans.

"Two weeks; I just felt tired, but Mick could see what was goin' on and made sure the kids were taken care of so he could help me." Ian muttered, wishing his husband hadn't been forced to do so much for him during the three days he was stuck in bed.

"Did Max and Harlow understand?" His therapist asked Ian as she scribbled down some notes.

"Max knows about my disorder-to an extent-but Harlow has no idea what was goin' on; she just thinks I was sick and that Mickey didn't want her and Max to catch it." Ian said with a soft smile as he remembered Harlow coming into their room when he'd went to take a nap-his body still not fully recovered from his bought of crippling Depression-to feel his forehead and ask if he wanted soup, while Max opted for just crawling into bed with Ian and cuddling up to his father. "She kept checkin' to see if I had a fever."

"How did Max react?" Ian knew it was important for him to have a good support system-something he hadn't had in five years until Mickey came back into his life, because Debbie and Carl tried not to smother him, Liam didn't really understand what was going on, and Fiona and Lip blamed his every emotion on his disorder-but he didn't believe his children should be a part of it; they were far too young to truly grasp what was wrong with their father, and shouldn't have to. Max, Harlow, and Cian should be  _kids_ and enjoy their childhood; not spend it worrying about Ian's broken mind.

"Max figured out when he got home what was goin' on-Mick said he had a feelin' Max knew before Debbie took him and Harlow to her place-and just decided to stay with me; sat with me on the porch when Mick, Harlow, and Cian were playin' in the yard, stayed in my lap when we sat the kids down for lunch, and took a nap with me when I got too worn out." Even if Ian didn't think Max should miss out on being a normal kid because he wad fucked up, he was thankful that his little boy loved him enough to stay by his side.

"And how is Mickey doing? I know we've talked about his mental health issues in the past; this couldn't have been easy on him." Ian felt like pointing out Mickey's own depression and his battle with PTSD was a low blow for his Doctor; he didn't need to be reminded that his brain making the choice to prevent him from moving for days on end must have been hard on Mickey, he'd seen the sadness in Mickey's eyes when the brunette had begged him to move, and the relief flood that breathtakingly gorgeous face when Ian finally crawled out of bed to help with Cian.

"He was stressed and tired by the end of it... I know he doesn't blame me for it, but I wish I could've just... Got the fuck outta bed; Mick needed help with the baby-with all three of our kids-and I couldn't help him." Ian admitted, feeling tears start to burn his eyes.

"Ian, Mickey knew about this when the two of you got back together." Doctor Holloway gently reminded Ian. "Mickey loves you-all of you-and that includes your disorder." Ian was well aware of this, but he still felt better being reminded that Mickey still loved him.

 

"Stop!" Mickey laughed hysterically as Ian, Max, and Harlow tickled his sides while he laid on the floor with Cian. Since Ian had been up and moving, again-and their two eldest children had returned home-Mickey had seemed absolutely fine; he was actually smiling and laughing, which Ian had missed during his depressive episode and the first day he was actually fully aware of his surroundings, again.

"Okay, guys, let's give Daddy a break." Ian chuckled, leaning over to kiss his husband.

"Gross!" Max exclaimed, covering his eyes dramatically as Mickey smiled into the sweet, chaste kiss.

"Should be glad we still like each other, brat!" Mickey roared, sitting up quickly and pulling Max into his lap to pepper the boy's face in kisses.

"Daaaaad!" Max whined through a giggle, trying his hardest not to smile as Mickey showered his oldest son with affection.

"You think Maxy really wants Daddy to stop, Ladybug?" Ian asked his daughter as she crawled into his lap.

"Nope." Harlow said, popping the "p" as she extended her hands to help Cian slowly climb onto Ian's leg. "Mouse is real smart." She praised as the youngest Gallagher figured out how to reposition himself.

"Yes he is." Ian agreed, wrapping his arms around both of the children curled up against him and watching Mickey smile down at Max. He'd become as dependent on those sweet smiles as he had the man, himself; he was completely addicted to seeing the happy, loving, carefree side of Mickey that the brunette had once been so afraid to show the world around him.

"What's with the face?" Mickey asked, barely even glancing away from the laughing redheaded boy in his lap.

"Just like seein' you this happy." Ian replied with a shrug, chuckling a little when Cian tried to get his fingers into his father's mouth.

"Shut the Hell up." Mickey said with absolutely no bite to it.

 "Yeah! Shut the Hell up!" Harlow exclaimed happily, causing both men to laugh. She was a handful, but she was theirs; these three amazing, beautiful little people were theirs, and they had shown Ian that-though it didn't seem possible, at one time-he could love someone more than he loved Mickey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I needed some fluff. Leave me some comments to let me know what you thought of this chapter. Much love!


	68. I Chose The Path That Means The Most To Me

"Carl's thinkin' about it, you know." Mickey said as he and Fiona watched Max push Harlow on the swing in The Gallagher's back yard. Mickey had asked Fiona about her fertility struggles, but the eldest of the Gallagher siblings seemed unfazed by the choice to have children of her own being taken away from her; she actually seemed relieved that it wouldn't be hanging over her head. 

"He doesn't need to worry about me; I'm fine. I already had five kids, as it is, and I didn't have to push any of 'em outta my Vag or gain fifty pounds." Fiona joked, glancing at Mickey as he handed Cian his Mickey Mouse toy.

"Just sayin', I only gained twenty with this one; gained twelve with Max and fourteen with Harlow." Mickey pointed out. He hadn't been particularly large with his first two children-gaining only the weight each of them weighed at birth and the weight of the Placenta, uterus, and Amniotic fluid, which had been equal to Max and Harlow's weight-but he'd been huge with Cian; He'd actually put on eight pounds he kept for the first few months after Cian was born. Though he'd looked softer after Harlow's birth-and been rather self-conscious about it-he had felt good after having Cian; better than he had after giving birth to his two eldest children, in fact.

"Most people don't look better after havin' a baby like you did, asswipe." Fiona chuckled, though it was the truth; once Mickey had cleaned the dirt from his skin, Fiona had noticed that he was an attractive guy, but once she'd seen him after he had Max? It had put pre-baby Mickey to shame; his body looked better, his eyes brighter, and the dimpled smile she'd never seen before he had her eldest nephew seemed to stay on his face.

"Got fat after I had this little monster." Mickey said, nibbling on Cian's fingers as he stuck them in his father's mouth.

"Please! Your ass got rounder and that was it!" Fiona exclaimed, taking Cian from Mickey. "Daddy's pretty, isn't he, Mouse?" She cooed to the smiling ten-month-old little boy.

"Tee!" Cian screeched, clapping his chubby hands.

"See? Even the baby thinks you're pretty." Fiona stated smugly as Ian walked on to the back porch, still in his work uniform.

"You talkin' about Mickey?" Ian asked, stealing his son away from his sister and moving to kiss his husband's cheek.

"Why'd you think she was talkin' about me?" Mickey questioned, raising his eyebrows as he glanced over at the redheaded man.

"She said "pretty" so it's gotta be one of my babies." Ian replied with a shrug.

"You're so full of shit." Mickey said, leaning into Ian's hand when the man started to gently massage his scalp.

"You two are disgustingly fuckin' cute." Fiona said, though she couldn't help but smile when Ian plopped himself down in Mickey's lap and Mickey's arms instantly wrapped themselves around both Ian and Cian.

"Screw you, I love your asshole brother." Mickey practically purred, leaning forward until his lips met Ian's.

"And we wonder why Harlow curses like a sailor." Ian laughed, turning to watch Harlow and Max as the started to run around the yard, tossing baseballs for Hyde and Jake as they went.

"No idea." Fiona and Mickey said in unison, which made Cian start giggling and clapping his little hands.

"Don't agree with them!" Ian chastised, lifting Cian over his head and kissing his chubby little stomach. Fiona may have accepted that she'd never have a child of her own-and been quite relieved when she realized it wasn't a concern she needed to have-but she would always be grateful to Mickey and Mandy Milkovich for giving her brothers children that the entire Gallagher family absolutely adored.

 

"Harlow decided Cian should have a Dinosaur cake for his birthday." Mickey told Ian as they loaded the dishwasher and cleaned the kitchen counters after dinner.

"Maybe we should explain to Ladybug that it's Cian's birthday, not her gettin' a second one in a year." Ian laughed, knowing that Harlow would absolutely love for Cian's first birthday party to focus on her. "Hard to believe he's gonna be one in two weeks."

"Yeah, I know." Mickey sighed, wishing he had just a bit more time with Cian being this young. "Don't feel like he should be a year old, yet."

"Daddy! Papa! Key's tryin' to climb on the table!" Harlow called out from the living room.

"Never mind. Can he just skip one so we don't gotta go through the climbin' every-fuckin'-thing phase, again?" Mickey grumbled as he sauntered into the living room and plucked Cian up from where he'd perched himself on the edge of the coffee table. "You bein' a monkey baby?"

"Kee! Me kee!" Cian laughed, but his parents were both left in shock; Cian had never said the word "me" before this. Sure, he could say "Dada" and his version of Papa-which was the same one Harlow had used as a baby-and would make similar sounds to words said to him, but he still mainly babbled.

"Key said Me, Papa!" Harlow gasped, clasping her tiny hands over her mouth as Max moved to give his little brother a high five. Sure, Ian understood his sister's choice to remain childless when she was faced with fertility struggles, but he couldn't imagine a life without his three beautiful babies. He'd chosen the right path for him, just as Fiona had chosen the path that meant the most the hers; the path that found comfort in the fact that she'd been the mother to five children, already. Ian supported Fiona's choice, but he was so happy he'd managed to find Mickey and their oldest son, as well as adding two more children to their family. This was how his life was always supposed to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments make my day, so please leave me some! Much love!


	69. Wouldn't Change A Thing

"You seem better, Mickey." Doctor Marshall said, looking Mickey over as the brunette man slowly flipped through his journal. "The last time I saw you, you were concerned that Ian was falling into a Depression."

"He did." Mickey quietly confirmed, setting the composition notebook aside. "Lasted three days."

"How did you cope? How did you keep up with three kids while worrying about Ian?" Doctor Marshall asked, clearly surprised that Mickey seemed to be doing well mentally after what had happened with Ian.

"My sister, Ian's sister, and friends of the family watched Max and Harlow. His other sister and little brother helped me with Cian and Ian." Mickey explained, realizing just how thankful he was for the Gallaghers.

"And you? Who was taking care of you, Mickey?" Doctor Marshall had been treating Mickey for years, now, and knew Mickey would neglect himself when someone else was in need of his help.

"Fiona reminded me to eat and shit like that." Mickey reluctantly muttered. Despite having changed a lot over the past nine years, Mickey still didn't want to be taken care of; he had no qualms about taking care of others, but did not want the favor returned. "I was fine."

"Mickey, you can't expect the people who love you not to worry about you." Mickey rolled his eyes, knowing Doctor Marshall was right, but he was tired of hearing he needed someone to take care of him.

"Look, I get people think the shit I do is a lot-I work full time, take care of three kids, two dogs, and my husband when he's depressed or manic-but you know what? I wouldn't change a fuckin' thing, 'cause I like bein' the one watchin' Ian's back, or kissin' my kids goodnight. This is my fuckin' life, and I like it." Mickey said, leaving no room for argument.

 

"Daddy!" Harlow laughed, flinging herself into Mickey's arms as he entered the house after therapy.

"Hey, Ladybug." Mickey greeted, lifting Harlow off her tiny feet and kissing her cheek. "Did you have fun with Papa, today?" He asked his daughter who just nodded, carrying her over to the couch were Ian was laying with Cian asleep on his chest as he pretended to be devastated that Max had beat him at a thumb wrestling match. "Havin' fun, baby?"

"No! Max is too good at this!" Ian dramatically groaned. "Beat me four times in a row."

"Why's he sleepin' on you?" Mickey asked as he sat Harlow back on the ground.

"Wouldn't let me put him down at nap time, so I turned on "Dumbo" and he was out by the end of "Baby Mine." I swear, he can't stay awake when he hears it." Ian explained without looking away from where Max was now teaching his sister how thumb wrestle. 

"He's not even one." Mickey remarked with a soft smirk on his face as he lifted Ian's legs and took a seat on the couch before letting the redhead's legs fall into his lap.

"Act like I don't remember when my baby was born." Ian scoffed, ruffling Max's hair in an effort to help Harlow win a thumb wrestling match against her older brother.

"Papa!" Max whined as Harlow whooped in victory.

"What?" Ian asked, feigning innocence.

"You made me lose." Max pouted, pushing his glasses back up his nose.

"No idea what you're talkin' about." Ian said, patting Cian's back with the arm he had wrapped around the sleeping baby.

"Dad, Papa made me lose." Max said, looking up at his father with those beautiful blue eyes.

"I don't know, Bud, Harlow looks pretty happy." Mickey pointed out, causing Max to look over at where his sister was dancing around.

"Yeah... Guess she's just better at it." Max said, smiling when Harlow did a little spin, making her Princess Merida dress twirl around her. Mickey felt his heart clenching as he watched Max stand up to dance with his sister, quickly sneaking a picture of the two redheads holding hands and spinning around, together for his Instagram.

_**Mickey.Gallagher:** My little guy is a fuckin awesome big brother @Ian_Gallagher #mybabies #wouldntchangeathing_

 


	70. I'll Get Better With Time

Mickey wouldn't admit he was sick; he just felt a little rough, that's all. The fever, chills, sore throat, headache, stuffy nose, upset stomach, and puking his God Damn guts up were nothing for Ian to worry about. "Hey, baby." Ian cooed, slowly lowering himself onto the edge of the bed he shared with his husband. "Head feelin' any better?" Ian asked, pressing his hand to Mickey's sickly pale forehead.

"I'm fuck-" Mickey was cut off by a rather painful cough. "Fuckin' fine, Ian." Mickey wheezed, his head pounding as he spoke. "I got-" Another painful cough. "Gotta go pick Max up from School."

"Fiona's picking him up. Ladybug's just as sick as you so she's in bed and Key's takin' his nap." Ian said quietly. "You need to take a nap, yourself. After you take these." Ian held out his hand, passing Mickey two aspirin.

"I'm not-" Yet another painful sounding cough from Mickey. "Not sick."

"Sure you're not. And I'm a virgin." Ian sarcastically replied.

"Really? I didn't-" A sneeze fallowed by a groan of pain cut Mickey off, this time. "Didn't know that."

"Just take the pills and get some sleep." Ian softly ordered. "Let me take care of you, for once." Ian practically begged. Mickey suddenly remembered his therapist's words, making him bite back his reply; he was supposed to let someone take care of him for once, right? So, why not let his husband take care of him while he was... Maybe, just a little sick.

"Okay." Mickey replied in a raspy voice, swallowing down the pills with a swig of water from the bottle Ian must have sat down on the nightstand. 

"Thank you. I'll check on you, later." Ian whispered, kissing Mickey's temple before leaving the bedroom so Mickey could sleep.

 

By the time Mickey woke up it was after seven PM. He could hear Max talking to Ian from the living room. Mickey slowly crawled out of bed-mindful of his sore body and headache-and made his way into the living room to see Max for a least a short amount of time for the day. "Hey, Chipmunk." Mickey rasped, smiling softly at Max, seated on the couch with his sickly younger sister curled up to his side with a cup of juice in her small hands.

"Hey, baby. What're you doin' up?" Ian called out softly as he walked back into the living room with Cian on his hip.

"Wanted to see the kids." Mickey replied, wishing he could hold Cian without risking the infant contracting the flu.

"Harlow's been pretty clingy with Max, but maybe she'd rather go cuddle with her Daddy." Ian said loud enough for Harlow to hear him, causing the little girl to pass her brother her cup, crawl off the couch, and slowly walk over to Mickey with her little arms over her head.

"Hold me?" Harlow quietly requested, looking up at Mickey with pleading blue eyes.

"Up we go." Mickey rasped, scooping Harlow up and hugging her close to his chest. The girl's skin is burning to the touch and her chest rattled with every breath she took, but she seemed happy to have Mickey hold her. "What's her temperature?"

"Just over ninety-nine. She feels hotter, though." Ian answered with a sigh, pulling Harlow's sweaty red hair back into a ponytail. "You two go lay down; I'll come get you when dinner's ready."

"I can take Key." Mickey offered, despite not wanting to get the baby sick.

"I got these two. You two need your rest." Ian assured Mickey, clearly pleased that Mickey is allowing him to take care of him.

"Okay." Mickey sighed, carrying Harlow to the bedroom he shared with his husband to get a little more rest. He may not like being taken care of, but he knew he needed to become more comfortable with this; he and Ian were married-partners in every aspect ot their lives-so they took care of each other. He would accept Ian caring for him, because Ian did it all out of the deep love he felt for Mickey. He was lucky to have Ian, so he would take all of the bullshit that came with a serious relationship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave me some comments, my beauties! Much love!


	71. Seeing Is Believing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This whole chapter is a glimpse at Mickey and Ian's relationship through Max's eyes.

Max was a smart kid-his Dad and Papa told him all the time-so he knew his Dad was different before Papa found them, again. Max was still real little when Papa came back, but he could remember Dad always looked... Lost; like when Max walked away from Papa in the store and he couldn't find him, so he just sat down in the isle and waited for Papa to find him. Max sometimes wondered if that was what Dad had been doing-sitting back and waiting for Papa to find him and take him home-even when he knew where he was. He thought it made sense that he was waiting, even if Dad didn't know that was what he was doing.

He could remember the day Papa came back, even though he was only four. He remembered Dad finally looking like he knew where he was; like he wasn't lost, anymore. But then, Dad started to look scared; like he was afraid Papa would disappear, again. When he was four, Max thought his Dad was just sad that he had to share Max's love and affection, but now he knew the truth; knew his Dad was just sad because he loved his Papa so much, and he could remember what it was like when his Papa first got sick.

Then-when he was five-his Dad and Papa were boyfriends, again, and his Dad looked happy. He looked so happy, and Papa looked happy, and they were all doing better; they were a real family for the very first time, and Max saw Dad and Papa change. Papa went from always watching Dad with sad eyes to smiling and always hugging or kissing  Dad. And Dad? Dad was calm and he smiled all the time. Life was good for all of them.

Now, Max was almost nine, had a little sister and little brother, and he knew why Papa and Dad were so much happier since they got back together; he knew what love looked like, now. He could see the way Dad and Papa always moved closer together-if they knew it or not-and how they would whisper when they got upset. They made each other feel safe, and that made Max happy; he liked seeing his family happy and safe, so he was glad Dad was finally better.

"Hey, Chipmunk, let's go tell Dad goodnight before bed, okay?" Papa called from the kitchen, ready to put Max and Cian to bed. Max nodded and walked into his parents' bedroom.

"Hey, baby boy." Dad said, his voice really quiet. Max wished his Dad wasn't sick, but he'd get better, soon; Papa always made people feel better when they got sick.

"Hey. I wanted to say night." Max whispered, kissing his Dad's cheek and moving away from the bed so he didn't wake Harlow up.

"Night, baby. Love you." Max was used to Dad and Papa saying "I love you" all the time; they said it was important to let the people you love know it. Max liked knowing Dad and Papa loved him as much as he loved them.

"Love you, too, Dad." Max said, watching his Papa kiss his Dad and whisper that he'd be back and cuddle him and Harlow after he got Max and Cian to bed. Yeah, Dad and Papa were a lot better, now, and it made Max feel safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave comments, beauties! Much love!


	72. Good Life

_**Mickey wasn't sure why he agreed to go to Ian's engagement party, but he did. While Ian had talked Mickey out of leaving-and had tried to form a relationship with Mickey, again-Mickey understood that Ian was just doing what he thought was right for the baby, even if he still wasn't ready to be in a relationship with Mickey. It didn't last long, however, when Mickey informed Ian that he couldn't-with a clear conscience-keep the baby when they could barely afford to feed themselves. They fought about it right up until their son was born, but Mickey knew the baby boy would have a better life with the couple who were adopting him, and reluctantly let his baby go. They had tried so hard over the next nine years to make it work, but Mickey could always tell that Ian held it against him that their child was being raised by someone else.** _

**_And now, Mickey was about to watch his best friend-and the love of his life-marry another man. He was happy for Ian-part of him was, at least-but he was still uncomfortable as he watched Ian kiss his fiancée for some stupid fucking picture Fiona insisted on. "Mickey!" Ian shouted, running up to his best man and pulling him into a hug. "I thought you were still on the Work trip to Boston!"_ **

**_"Wouldn't be a good best man if I missed your fuckin' engagement party."  Mickey mumbled against Ian's shoulder, happy to be trapped in the warmth of Ian's arms._ **

**_"Fuck, man! I missed you." Ian sighed as he pulled away from Mickey, though his eyes were sad. "You get Taylor's new school pictures?" Ah, so that was it; their son's adoptive parents always kept Ian and Mickey up to date on the boy-who they named Taylor-and it always made them sad._ **

**_"Still got that weird ass red hair." Mickey replied in an attempt to joke._ **

**_"He looks like you, though." Ian said, sadly. "He's beautiful."_ **

**_"Don't look so down, man; your new guy's a carrier, ain't he?" Mickey asked, knowing Ian's fiancée-some fucking twink named "Criss"-was a carrier, but he could see something close to disgust in Ian's eyes._ **

**_"I don't want another kid, Mick; I wanted ours. You didn't." Ian replied with a shrug. "Got a vasectomy when Taylor was three."_ **

**_"You're gettin' married and you don't want a kid that's actually fuckin' yours?" Mickey questioned in shock, not sure why Ian would do something so drastic._ **

**_"I have a kid. I get pictures of him, and that's the only fuckin' connection I have to my own damn son!" Ian shouted, causing everyone to turn and stare at the two men. "I wanted all of this with you-wanted a life with you and our son-but you didn't. I'm getting married, but do you really think I'd ever want anyone else?"_ **

**_"Don't do this shit, Ian." Mickey begged, knowing he couldn't deal with losing Ian, again. Mickey quickly dragged Ian out of the hotel lobby, glaring at the man once they were alone. "You think it was easy for me? Giving up my baby?! I miss him every fuckin' day!"_ **

**_"Then why?!" Ian demanded, angrily._ **

**_"We weren't fuckin' ready!" Mickey shouted back. "Were you ready to go days without sleep? To take your fuckin' meds 'cause the kid would need you? To put him first?!" Mickey questioned faster than Ian could respond to. "For fuck sake, Ian! I was tryin' to take care of you, and you fuckin' dumped my ass! What was gonna change if a kid was added into the mix?"_ **

**_"I would've been doin' it for my son!" Ian screamed, tears in his wide green eyes. "And you would've done the same shit if the tables were turned."_ **

**_"Fuck off." Mickey scoffed, looking away from the distraught redhead._ **

**_"Would you have let me take care of you? No. You wouldn't even fuckin' talk to me when you were raped!" Ian reminded the brunette, bitterly._ **

**_"'Cause I was fine." Mickey tried to argue._ **

**_"No you weren't. And neither was I." Ian said, suddenly calm. "We were both fucked up, but I outgrew it. The question is... Did you?" Ian asked before turning and walking away from Mickey._ **

 

"Dad?" Max whispered, shaking Mickey's shoulder as the brunette man snapped into the waking world. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah. I'm okay, baby boy." Mickey rasped, still not quite over his battle with the flu. "Where's your Papa?"

"Makin' lunch; Harlow woke up hungry." Max told his father, laying down with his head on Mickey's stomach. "You were sayin' Papa's name... You sounded sad."

"Just a bad dream, Chipmunk. Don't worry about me." Mickey whispered, running his fingers through Max's hair when he spotted Ian standing in the doorway.

"Hey, Chipmunk, your lunch is done." Ian told their son, smiling affectionately when the boy jumped up and ran into the kitchen. "Feelin' any better?" Ian asked, moving to kiss his husband's forehead.

"Much. Thank you... For takin' care of me." Mickey replied, closing his eyes when Ian moved his lips to his cheek.

"Thank you for letting me." Ian whispered, standing up to go check on their kids. "Wanna come eat with us?"

"Yeah." Mickey replied with a nod, standing up and taking Ian's hand, ready to be with his husband and kids. His dream had shown him just how lucky he was to have them, and he wouldn't forget that.


	73. Unfamiliar Faces

Mickey hadn't seen anyone on his mother's side of the family since his mother's funeral, when he was eight years old. He was now almost thirty and had a family of his own, so he never thought about them. That is, until his brother and sister showed up at his house one day, both obviously nervous. "You two okay?" Mickey asked as he finished feeding Cian his lunch and his older children fed themselves the turkey sandwiches and carrot sticks Mickey had given them for lunch.

"You remember Ma's baby sister? Aunt Victoria?" Iggy asked, wishing Mickey would allow him to smoke in the house, because he seriously needed a fucking cigarette.

"Remember her comin' to Chicago when Mands was a baby, but not much else. Why?" Mickey asked as he passed Max another carrot stick when the boy ran out.

"Thank you." Max mumbled, happily eating his extra carrot.

"She called me; she's in the states and wants to see us." Iggy said, looking anywhere but at his younger brother. "She couldn't find you two-probably 'cause you're both fuckin' Gallaghers, now-but she asked if we could all meet for dinner so she could see us."

"If she wanted to fuckin' see us, she had twenty-one years to do it." Mickey said angrily, trying to keep his emotions under control while his kids were in the room.

"Mick, man, she don't even fuckin' live in the country." Iggy tried to argue, hoping Mickey would agree to see their aunt.

"I'm married and have three fuckin' kids; I stopped wishin' Ma's family would try to see us when I was ten." Mickey said with finality.

"I agree with Mickey; it's been too damn long for her to try and be part of our lives." Mandy spoke up, walking over to the table and quickly pulling Harlow's hair up so it wouldn't go in her food.

"We don't have much family left, Mick; we got each other, and that's it." Iggy pointed out, just wanting his siblings to see reason.

"You gained a whole fuckin' family when I married Ian." Mickey tried to argue.

"You did. All I got is you, Mandy, and your kids." Iggy said, sadly. "I don't ask you two for shit, so do this for me."

"Fuck, fine!" Mickey finally groaned, just wanting the conversation to be over. "But my kids ain't goin'; I get to decide if she meets my fuckin' kids."

"Same goes for Arya." Mandy said, not remembering what their aunt's personality was like and not wanting to expose her daughter to a toxic person.

"Fine. But bring Lip and Ian." Iggy bargained, secretly knowing Mickey wouldn't do something like this without his husband by his side.

"No worries about that." Mickey mumbled, picking Cian up and sitting the boy in his lap.

 

"Did you ever see her before the funeral?" Ian asked Mickey as they sat in their bed, both exhausted after a long day.

"Once. Mandy was about six months old and she was bein' baptized, so Ma's family came. I think they were there for mine and Iggy's, but I'm not sure." Mickey admitted, sitting back against the headboard.

"I didn't know you were baptized." Ian said, surprised that his husband and sister-in-law were both baptized. "Why didn't you want the kids baptized, then?"

"'Cause I stopped carin' about church after my mom died. She was Russian Orthodox, and I went to church with her all the time... I fuckin' prayed she'd stop usin', but it never worked. So-when she died-I didn't believe, anymore." Mickey confessed quietly. "I just wanted her to get better."

"I'm so sorry, baby." Ian whispered, wrapping his arm around Mickey and kissing his head. "I was raised Catholic, and when I realized I was gay I was fuckin' lost; if God hates what I am, why make me gay?"

"You still believe in God?" Mickey asked, resting his head on Ian's shoulder.

"I didn't for awhile, then I saw Max; he was my little Miracle and I had to believe, 'cause I knew with something that perfect in the world, there had to be a God." Ian confirmed lovingly. "Then you gave me two more beautiful little miracles."

"You're so full of shit." Mickey laughed affectionately. "You gonna go with me? I can't go without you."

"I'll be there, baby." Ian promised, rubbing his hand along Mickey's side. He knew his husband was nervous, and he would be right at his side, holding his hand the whole time.

 

"Vigo!" A short, silver-haired woman gasped as Mickey, Ian, Mandy, Lip, and Iggy entered the restaurant Fiona managed for dinner after dropping the children off to Debbie, Carl, and Liam at Fiona's house. She looked like an elderly version of Mandy-of their mother, Ian supposed-and it made Ian feel slightly more at ease. "Look at you, handsome boy!" She exclaimed, hugging and kissing Iggy. "Oh, Mikhailo! Takyy harnyy khlopetsʹ!" 

"You can translate, right?" Lip whispered to his brother-in-law.

"She said he's beautiful." Mandy supplied, smiling awkwardly when Victoria finally looked at her.

"Vy vyhlyadayete tak samo, yak i vasha maty." Victoria muttered sadly, hugging Mandy tightly.

"She said she looks like Ma." Mickey stated, feeling a sinking in his chest; he tried not to think about how closely Mandy resembled his mother.

"Oh, so sorry! Who you are?" Victoria asked Lip and Ian in broken English.

"I'm Phillip; I'm Mandy's husband." Lip introduced himself, politely, extending his hand to Victoria.

"Vin duzhe krasyvyy." Victoria whispered to Mandy with a mischievous smile on her face.

"She said you're very handsome." Mandy informed her husband, kissing his cheek lovingly.

"And you?" Victoria asked Ian, staring in awe at Ian. Mickey couldn't blame her; if she thought Lip was handsome, she must think Ian is the fucking Statue of David.

"I'm Ian Gallagher; I'm Mickey's husband." Ian stated proudly. He fucking loved getting to introduce himself as Mickey's husband.

"Vin chudovyy, Mikhailo." Victoria nearly gasped as she stared at Ian's chiseled features.

"She said you're gorgeous." Mickey laughed softly, letting Ian wrap his arms around his waist. Victoria lead the family to the table, smiling at everyone as took their seats. "Budʹ-yaki dity?" Victoria asked, looking around at her niece and nephews.

"She asked if we had kids. I don't, but Mandy's got a daughter and Mick's got two sons and a daughter; Mick's a carrier, so they're completely theirs." Iggy said, glancing at Mickey to see if his brother was ready to kill him, yet. Luckily, Ian still had a hold of Mickey's waist.

"Baptized?" Victoria asked, fiddling with her cross necklace.

"No." Mickey replied, leaning closer to his husband.

"You must baptize babies! Is good to cleanse souls!" Victoria chastised, which had Mickey clenching his fists under the table.

"I was raised Catholic and since Mick was raised Russian Orthodox we decided against it; since we don't practice the same religion, we thought it was better not to get into that debate." Ian explained, trying to keep everyone calm.

"Your baby?" Victoria asked, turning to look at Mandy and Lip.

"I'm Ian's brother, so we're in the same boat." Lip said, attempting to assisted his brother's mission to keep the Milkovich family temper under control.

"Must baptize to save souls; unbaptized babies have tainted souls." Victoria decided, looking through the menu as Mickey stood up to go have a cigarette.

 

"So, she's religious." Ian said awkwardly as he and Mickey took the kids into the house. Mickey had stayed silent all through dinner, even with Iggy trying desperately to get Mickey involved in the conversation.

"Ma always said you can't force your beliefs on someone else; that you had to decide what you believe in, on your own." Mickey confided as he laid Cian in his crib and took Max from Ian, laying him down in his bed on the opposite side of the room.

"I like that." Ian murmured as they walked to Harlow's room and put the little girl to bed. "You met her; you did what Iggy asked, now you can move on." Ian whispered as he kissed his husband. He knew meeting Victoria had taken a tole on Mickey, but it was over.

"She gave me this." Mickey said, taking a photograph out of his pocket and passing it to Ian. "Said he was an old boyfriend of Ma's." When Ian looked at the photograph, he knew why Victoria had given it to Mickey; any features Mickey had that weren't identical to Mandy, this man had; the nose, the smile, the chin... Mickey literally looked like the perfect combination of this man and his mother.

"Mick..." Ian had no idea what to say. Could this man possibly be his father, and Mickey had found out from a photograph of his mother smiling and laughing with him.

"Iggy said he recognized him; guess he moved to the states about a year before I was born." Mickey said as he started walking down the stairs towards the master bedroom. "Said Dad got pissed when he saw him at the house, one day, and then he never came back."

"You think he's still alive?" Ian asked, knowing what Terry's temper had been like when he was alive.

"Honestly? No; I think that's why he just suddenly stopped comin' around." Mickey whispered as he crawled into bed next to Ian, laying his head on his husband's chest. "Feels sorta nice; knowin' Terry's not my Dad." That was the last thing said about it, because Ian didn't know what to say. He just held Mickey as they both drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:  
> takyy harnyy khlopets'-Such a beautiful boy  
> Vy vyhlyadayete tak samo, yak i vasha maty-You look so much like your mother  
> Vin duzhe krasyvyy-He's very handsome  
> Vin chudovyy, Mikhailo-He's gorgeous, Mikhailo  
> Budʹ-yaki dity?-Any kids?


	74. Hidden Truth

Mickey thought he'd feel different after discovering Terry Milkovich wasn't his father, but he felt the same; he was still Max, Harlow, and Cian's father, he was still Mandy and Iggy's brother, and he was still Ian's husband. He thought he'd feel like he was a different person, but he honestly felt nothing, because he hadn't thought about Terry since Harlow was an infant. "I wish I remembered his fuckin' name." Iggy groaned, sitting back on the couch in Mickey and Ian's living room.

"You remember anything about him?" Mickey asked, handing Cian his Mickey Mouse rubber ball when the toddler threw it to him.

"He was nothin' like Terry; he was always laughin', called Ma "krasyve kokhannya" all the time... Somethin' about the way he smelled always made me feel safe when he'd pick me up." Iggy said, furrowing his eyebrows as he tried to remember details about Mickey's biological father. "He smelled like whiskey and good cigars."

"Guess that's better than cheap beer, pot, and stale cigarettes." Mickey commented, handing the ball back to a giggling Cian, yet again. "You havin' fun, Mousy?"

"Ball!" Cian laughed, running off on his wobbly little legs with his toy between his chubby hands.

"Mikhail." Iggy mumbled, causing Mickey to glance at him, obviously assuming he was saying "Mikhailo" to get his attention. "His name... It was Mikhail."

"And now I know why everyone started callin' me "Mickey" right away." Mickey said with his sad blue eyes focused on his son. "She named me after my Dad."

"I forgot all about him 'til I saw that picture." Iggy admitted, wishing he could offer his brother more help than the fractured memories of a four-year-old who simply believed the man was their mother's best friend. "Wait!"

"What?" Mickey asked, turning to look at his brother when he jumped up.

"I... I remember what happened the last day he was around." Iggy muttered, feeling his chest tightening.

 

**Thirty Years Ago**

Iggy was a fairly happy four-year-old; he loved running around his house with his Mama and her friend, Mikhail. He was always nice to him and his Mama, so Iggy liked him. "Vigo, prykhodʹ syudy miy solodkyy khlopetsʹ!" Iggy's Mama shouted happily from where she was seated on the couch with her friend.

"Yes, Mama?" Iggy asked, climbing into his Mama's lap.

"Vigo, Mama has to tell you something." His Mama whispered, pulling him closer to her chest. "Mama has a baby in her tummy!"

"A baby brother?" Iggy asked, looking up at his mother with wide eyes. Iggy had always wanted a baby brother, but Mama said a baby took time.

"Mama does not know just yet, but we will have a baby, very soon." She cooed, stroking his hair.

"You must promise to be best brat nashoyi dytyny." Mikhail playfully ordered, tapping Iggy's nose.

"I will! I will!" Iggy chirped, leaning forward to hug Mikhail. Iggy wished Mikhail was his Daddy; he was always nice and he loved Iggy and his Mama.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS HE DOIN' HERE?!" Iggy's Daddy shouted as he walked in the house, causing his Mama to usher him off the couch and to his room as his Daddy ran at Mikhail, angrily. "I fuckin' told you to stay away from my God damn wife, Honchar!" Iggy heard screams, shouting, and loud noises for a few minutes before the door slammed and his Mama cried.

 

**Present Day**

"Mikhail Honchar... My Dad's name was Mikhail Honchar." Mickey mumbled as he looked at his son.

"Was?" Iggy asked, still not sure what Terry might have done to Mikhail.

"You think Terry let him out alive?" Mickey asked, turning to smirk at his brother sadly.

 

"So you know his name, now." Ian said as he stood under the spray of the shower with his arms around his husband after all three of their children were in bed.

"Don't make a damn bit of difference if Terry actually killed him." Mickey replied, sighing when Ian ran his hands up and down his back.

"We'll find out." Ian said, hoping to keep his husband from falling into a deep depression. 

"Don't matter if he's alive or not; I'm almost thirty, I'm married, and I got kids. I don't fuckin' need him if he is alive, 'cause if he is? He never looked for me." Mickey decided, laying his head on Ian's shoulder and enjoying their quiet moment, together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:  
> krasyve kokhannya-beautiful love  
> Vigo, prykhodʹ syudy miy solodkyy khlopetsʹ!-Vigo, come here my sweet boy!  
> brat nashoyi dytyny-brother to our baby


	75. Hiding Behind A Lie

Ian had let Mickey believe he wasn't searching for Mikhail Honchar, but that wasn't entirely true; Ian couldn't let it go, when-every fucking time he caught Mickey off guard-the brunette man looked so fucking sad. He wasn't sure if Mickey was mourning a man he was sure Terry had murdered, or if he was saddened by the possibility that his real father had just left him at Terry Milkovich's mercy and had never tried to find him, but Ian couldn't handle that sadness in his eyes, anymore. He'd asked Sue-who was currently dating some guy who worked in the archives at City Hall-to help him look up the man Iggy discovered from Victoria, had legally immigrated the United States thirty-One years ago.

"Mikhail Honchar, born March twentieth nineteen seventy, immigrated here June fourth nineteen ninety three." Sue said, passing Ian some files as he arrived at work, one morning. "Current address and work information should be there."

"Current?" Ian asked, skimming through the file in his hands. "He's alive."

"I know Mick was convinced he wasn't... I'm sorry, sweetie." Sue said, squeezing Ian's shoulders as she walked past him.

"He's alive." Ian repeated to himself, feeling an anger he hadn't expected boiling inside of him. How the fuck could a father just abandon his fucking child with someone like Terry Milkovich?

 

"Why didn't you just leave it alone?!" Mickey demanded when Ian showed him the file Sue had retrieved with information on Mikhail Honchar inside.

"Because you needed to know, Mickey!" Ian exclaimed, glancing out of their bedroom to ensure their children didn't hear the arguing. "He's your fuckin' Dad."

"He fuckin' donated sperm! You can be a father and not be a Dad! You wanna know what a Father is? Terry and fuckin' Mikhail! You wanna know what a Dad is? Us; we care about our kids and wouldn't just walk away from them for shit!" Mickey muttered harshly as he pointed towards the three kids sitting in front of the TV watching  _"The Land Before Time"_ with little plastic bowls of whatever snack they had asked for before the movie.

"And he should see that you didn't need him; you made a life for yourself without his ass in it." Ian said, moving closer to Mickey. "You don't need that fucker, baby; you didn't need Terry, and you don't need him."

"I don't wanna meet him." Mickey whispered, looking towards their three children, again. "And I don't want him meetin' them."

"Then you don't have to." Ian said softly, pulling Mickey into a hug. He knew Mickey would-at some point-change his mind, but Ian would hold his hand through it all.

 

Mickey couldn't sleep that night; all he could think about was what his biological father could possibly be like. Would he want to see Mickey? Would he even care that his child was alive? Would he care that he had grandchildren?

All of these thoughts kept running through Mickey's mind as he sat on his back porch with an empty pack of cigarettes beside him and an ashtray full of cigarette butts on the opposite side. "Fuck." Mickey muttered as he reached for another cigarette, only to remember he'd just smoked his last one.

"Need this?" Ian asked, passing Mickey a cigarette from his own pack as he took a seat next to his husband and passing him on of two baby monitors. "Put the old one in Harlow's room since the new one's in the boys' room." Ian explained as Mickey lit his cigarette.

"Didn't think I'd be out here, this long." Mickey said, looking out over the numerous toys littering the backyard. "I just don't get it; how the fuck can someone walk away from their fuckin' kid?"

"I wish I could tell you." Ian said, looking at Max's bike leaned up against a tree. "Can't imagine leavin' them."

"Yeah." Mickey sighed, watching his smoke curl in the air. "I need to meet him."

"I know. And I'll be there with you." Ian said, wrapping his arm around Mickey's shoulder and offering his husband his silent comfort. Mickey needed to do this for himself, and Ian needed to be with him, because he loved Mickey.

**Author's Note:**

> Leave me some comments, beauties! Much Love!


End file.
